


Cat-Nipped Goals

by Avan Ariel (AvanArial)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: :), Aged Up, Agreste backstory included, Comedy, F/M, LadyNoir - Freeform, Marichat, Mystery, Romance, adrienette - Freeform, but possibly some sex later, ladrien, maybe a little horror too, not a smut story, some sexy stuff, they are about 16-17 in this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-01-12
Packaged: 2019-10-02 11:49:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 34,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17263673
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvanArial/pseuds/Avan%20Ariel
Summary: “Ah ah ah,” Chat tsked. “The cat’s already out of the bag, Princess. There’s no putting it back in.”[Mature For]: Not super explicit but has some sexual stuff.This is mystery/romance. So, there is romance, but there is also a story plot. Also, I began writing this after season 1, so there is a lot of miraculous stuff that’s off canon.





	1. Alone

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rita](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rita/gifts).



Marinette stared down at the miraculous in her hand, unsure of what to think of the events that had led to her acquiring it. Her eyes were too tired to cry anymore, and accidentally waking the other three residents of the household (causing them trouble) would only worsen her mood.

A lavender brooch glowed brightly in the moonlight that entered through the tall windows of Marinette’s room. A deep sadness hung about it—both the room and the jewelry.

All was quiet, all was still. 

  
Marinette’s room felt cold. The mansion itself seemed to emanate no warmth, sitting like an ornate and polished furnace that would no longer run, existing only for show. 

Decoration. Face. 

That's what the house was.

A front. A lie. 

  
Marinette had realized that as soon as she had entered it, and how _he_ had managed to live there so long without...breaking, for lack of a better word, truly amazed her, and somewhat saddened her. 

  
She had been alone but five months.   
_He_ had been alone five years. 

_[Flashback]_

Hawkmoth empowered an Akuma, but not to retrieve both miraculous as usual. This akuma bore a message: Hawkmoth would surrender the butterfly miraculous on the condition his identity would remain forever secret. 

Ladybug and Chat Noir had been close, very close, to exploiting his identity in recent endeavors. And, although this was unknown to them, the villainous man had become anxious. 

For even greater reasons unknown, he seemed to no longer have a purpose for his miraculous, or the heroes’. 

Reluctantly, both Ladybug and Chat had agreed, seeing it as a way to finally end his terrorization of Paris after a solid two years of fighting, even if it meant never truly bringing him to justice. Hawkmoth arranged to meet with them face to face for the first time ever, and the last. A shady alley on one of the many streets of Paris was the set rendezvous.

The akuma bearing this message had collapsed, the akumatized butterfly cleansing itself. 

Ladybug and Chat Noir crept into the alleyway quietly, unsure it would not be a trap. Trash littered the narrow cobblestone pavement and a dim street lamp hardly managed to give light to the sketchy crevice. Ladybug and Chat let their eyes wander warily, not speaking a word. The moon shone with an eerie brightness, casting deep, dark shadows from the tall buildings that hovered over the pair. 

"Glad you could make it Ladybug, Chat Noir," a sultry voice greeted. 

Both the teens gasped and whirled around. Hawkmoth stood solemnly in the loom of a shoe salon.

"Papillón," Ladybug returned uneasily, her voice icy and her stare just as cold. 

Hawkmoth, broad-shouldered and solidly six feet tall, stepped menacingly out into the dim light, walking with near perfect posture, cane in hand. Ladybug, instinctually, took a step back and Chat Noir readied his claws, eyes glowing a sickening green. Hawkmoth looked unsteadily between them for a second before hardening his expressionless glare once again. 

As the heroes watched, slowly, the man reached for the winged brooch that decorated the neck of his suit. The sound of de-transformation rang through the air. An array of glowing butterflies and light whipped around Hawkmoth and, when it stopped, all that was left was a regularly dressed business man. His identity remained concealed behind a silky purple mask that covered his eyes and a fancy hat that hid the majority of his hair, both matching the dark gray suit and purple necktie he was attired in. Chat might've even complimented his fashion sense had the situation not been so tense. The now ex-villain, despite having the mask and hat, kept his eyes adverted and his head cast slightly downward.

He wasn't taking any chances. 

Hawkmoth stood in place for a second longer, looking at the (now-wingless) brooch with what seemed _almost_ like regret.

Then, as if it were worth nothing, he dropped it to filthy cobblestone beneath him. A last glance wasn’t spared as the man turned casually on his heels and, hands in pockets, began to nonchalantly stroll back up the alleyway from where he’d come.

Chat barred his teeth, ready to pounce and go back upon his promise to let the loathsome man free, but Ladybug grabbed his arm firmly and shook her head. Chat looked back at his partner, ambiguity glossing his eyes.

She didn't meet his gaze as she bent to pick up the fallen miraculous. 

"How can we just let him go like that? How?! He seriously gets to walk off? No consequences? What, was his miraculous always a get out of jail free card?!" Chat derided with a hiss, his voice dripping with disparagement. 

Ladybug still didn't speak. She tucked away the miraculous and resolutely glared at her angry counterpart from the corner of her eye. But Chat glared back, not yet ready to relinquish this fight. In a tempered fit, he grabbed Ladybug's shoulders and slammed her against the alley wall, his green eyes dark and pleading. 

"Are you even listening to me?!" he practically yelled. Ladybug stared up at him with dead blue eyes and her expression made his grip on her shoulders loosened. Chat felt his eyes moisten and he leaned his forehead against his Lady's chest to hide his defeated face. 

"Please, we can't just let it end like this," he begged. Chat Noir began to sob uncontrollably into Ladybug, his hands still clinging to her shoulders. He expected to be pushed back, reprimanded, hugged, comforted, something—anything.

But the red clad hero made no such move.

Chat felt her limbs begin to tremble by her side. 

"You think I didn't care? You think I didn't want to go back on what I said?Everything I said I want to take back! Everything! But that isn't something either of us is able to do, because we aren't liars. We made a promise, we made a deal. If we went back on it, we'd be no better than him!" Ladybug yelled, burying her face in the blonde's hair. Tears of anger, sadness, and frustration flowed from her beautiful eyes.

“We are here to protect the public, Chat. It's our job. I failed that job the day...the day those parents died, killed by someone their child knew and was friends with. I can't suffer anymore death, Chat Noir. Death that’s my fault. Death related to people who are important to..." the heroine’s voice trailed off as it cracked. "I had the chance to end this, so I did."

She was crying as hard as her partner now, her tears dampening Chat’s silky hair. 

Chat Noir froze when she mentioned the parents.

 _That's right. That was our fault. We weren't paying enough attention. We didn't see them. She's alone now, because of us—ME_.

His mind flashed to his crying female friend. 

_"Why?!" she’d screamed, eyes red and swollen as tears streamed down her face. Sabrina had stood dumbfounded, too shocked to cry, too shocked to speak, too shocked to move._

_"I-I'm sorry," Sabrina whimpered. Her voice was fragile and glassy and she dropped to her knees, eyes wide in terror as she stared at the forsaken girl._

_Adrien had happened to be in the school hallway at that time, but he was unable to find anything to say to help the situation for either of the two. He had stood by in his own silence, knowing it was his fault as much as anyone's that the girl's parents were dead._

_"I'm sorry..."  was all the damned girl on the ground could manage to say again._

_Two days later, Sabrina moved out of Paris._

Mentally recalling all of the events that had led up to this moment, Ladybug and Chat Noir dropped to the ground and remained in a tight deathlike embrace. Seconds turned to minutes turned to hours. 

A thought occurred to them once the despair had temporarily subsided.

 _‘What_ _now?’_

"There is still plenty of crime to fight in Paris without a Hawkmoth," Ladybug concluded quietly after some thought. "We don't have to give this up yet." Chat closed his tired eyes and leaned further into her.

"Never, please. Never," he sighed into her chest. Ladybug stroked his head, running her small hands through his soft, golden locks. 

"You have nice smelling shampoo," she said with a light giggle, attempting to better the mood. Chat Noir laughed quietly in response as he slowly stood up, retching a hand to his Lady. "Merci, Mademoiselle,” he said with a smile and a traditional wink.

The two gave one last, long look at each other before vanishing into the night.  

_[End Flashback]_

  
Marinette laid the lavander miraculous into the wooden drawer of her nightstand and snuggled under her blankets.

It was late. Tomorrow would be another long day.

As Marinette slept, nightmares of her parents played through and through, set on repeat like broken records.

But Marinette was used to the bad dreams. After all, it had been this way for  five months.

Five very long months in the Agreste mansion.


	2. Tragic, Magic, and Chat Noir

"Are you awake?" A cold voice asked from outside Marinette’s bedroom door. A strong fist banged against it. 

 _Oh crap. Nathalie._  

"I'm awake!"

It was hardly even half true.

Nathalie let out a satisfied grunt and walk away. Marinette sighed and plopped back down as her eyes began to close. 

Another loud knock on the door.

Marinette bolted out of bed completely this time. 

"I promise, I'm awake!" she squeaked. 

"Don't worry, Marinette. It's just me," came Adrien's voice, sounding mid yawn. 

"Oh, Adrien! I’m sorry!” Marinette’s reply somewhat frantic. 

Adrien opened her bedroom door and invited himself in, leaning against Marinette’s bedroom wall, half asleep himself. The girl mentally rolled her eyes at his somewhat invasive entrance. 

"It is my house you know," Adrien teased, as if having read her thoughts. Marinette blushed. 

"Something you wanted to tell me?" she asked, not looking up as she fished through clothes drawers. 

Adrien sighed.

_She's being distant, again. Why is she always like this around me?_

Marinette failed to notice the frustrated expression on the boy model's face. 

"No," he answered her shortly.  

"Oh, ok. Well, I have to get ready for school. Cya downstairs?"

"Mari."

"Y-Yeah?"

Adrien didn't say anything. He just stared into the back of her head, as if the reason to her weird behavior would be written there for him to see. 

"What is it?" she asked again. 

"Nothing. Nevermind."

Adrien turned on his heels and walked out, leaving Marinette to stare after him in confusion. 

____________________

 

The school day was redundant and monotonous. Classes dragged on as usual and students thought their usual thoughts and complained the usual complaints.

The last bell rang and Marinette breathed a sigh of relief as she gathered her things and headed toward the school library. An unnoticed (or unacknowledged) Adrien followed closely behind her, his eyes glued to her back in deep thought. 

When they entered the library, Alya's head snapped up. 

"Did you hear?!" she exclaimed excitedly, holding her phone in the air and waving it around. 

"Nope," Adrien responded. He couldn't help but notice how Marinette tensed at the sound of his voice.

And he'd be lying to say he wasn't more than just a little frustrated about it, since it happened every freaking time he talked.

"The school is on lockdown! Any and all students still in the building are not permitted to leave!" Alya continued, her voice filled with excitement. 

Marinette's ears pricked. 

"Why?" she asked, taking a step toward Alya. 

"A bank robbery. An armed bank robbery. The bank on this street," came Adrien's voice from behind her. Marinette turned to find him staring at his own phone. "Says here they have hostages, the cops can't do anything...so, I wonder..." He now sounded as if he were speaking more to himself than anyone else. A slight, amused smile crossed his lips and his eyes spaced out on the book shelves in front of him.

_She might be there._

The thought excited Adrien. He broke out of his daze and looked at his group of friends. 

"I...uh...have to go to the bathroom," he told them. 

Marinette, not a minute later, whisked our the same excuse. 

________________________________

 

Chat Noir landed silently on the bank's roof and began looking for a discreet way in.

 _A vent. Perfect._  

The slick hero quickly set to working unscrewing it with his claws. 

_The heart attack dad would have if he ever found out the things I do on my own free time..._

The thought made the cat snort a bit out of a somewhat vengeful satisfaction. 

"Whatcha laughing at?" came a voice from behind him. He jumped a bit. Ladybug was bending over him. 

The masked boy sighed in relief and smiled warmly as the last screw came loose.

"You're just in time. Ladies first," he teased, motioning to the open vent. Ladybug rolled her eyes and crawled in, Chat Noir following right behind her. They crawled for what felt like an eternity as they slowly crept to maintain silence.

Finally, voices could be heard. 

"That's right. Just keep your hands where we can see 'em. No sudden movements. Just let us take your valuables with no resistance and no ones gonna get shot. It's that simple." The voice was husky and failingly coaxial, echoing intimidatingly off the high walls and ceiling. Ladybug and Chat shuffled to an opening that was located right above one of the criminals and Chat set to work unscrewing it as Ladybug scanned the scene below. Many people were crying quietly with their friends, family, or complete strangers. Some sat silently and glared up at the robbers. There were three villains total. 

 _Chink_. 

The last bolt came out. The vent was open. 

Ladybug nodded to Chat Noir. 

"On three," she whispered. 

"One..."

"Two..."

"Three."

Chat kicked out the vent and sent it flying into a robber's head, knocking him to the ground cold, blood visibly wetting the floor. The other two looked up. Ladybug didn't give them a chance to make a move. She sent her yoyo flying and knocked both a gun and a bat out of their hands. Their faces showed full fury. 

"Get them!" Chat yelled to her. "We can't hesitate! These aren't akumas."

Ladybug swallowed her fear and jumped at one robber as Chat attacked the other with his staff. Chat was built for hand to hand combat, and it was obvious he was well trained in the art of weaponry. His staff wielding abilities were nothing short of admirable, but Ladybug on the other hand was struggling. She wasn't much of a fist fighter, and her opponent was even stronger than the one Chat was dealing with, and better trained. Her blows had little effect. Frustrated, she jumped back and swung at the criminal with her yoyo, but he wasn't buying it. Grabbing the yoyo, he yanked her hard to the ground in front of him. 

"You think I'm gonna get beat up by a tot in spots?" He growled. "Think again." Ladybug gasped as he grabbed a vase from the table next to him and sent it flying down at her.

She braced for the impact, her hands covering her head.  

The sound of breaking glass echoed violently through the bank. 

But decaying shards were all the frightened hero felt hit her. 

Cautiously, Ladybug’s eyes blinked open. Chat Noir stood in front of her, his cataclysm having taken the blow. She looked to him gratefully, but the cat was no longer paying attention to his Lady. His breathing had become short, mouth near foaming, and his eyes contained a crazed look. His claws were extended and his hand clenched his staff in a deathlike grip. 

The robber took a menacing step toward the pair, wielding the bat he had recovered from a fallen comrade. Smirking, he looked at Ladybug. 

"Quite the boyfriend you got there. Does he always take the blows for you? Take the blows while you get the glory? While the crowd oohs and ahs?”

 _Snap_. 

"Leave her alone!" Chat snarled, launching himself irrationally at the man as he swung his baton with full force. His teen body was already overbearingly strong with the magic of the miraculous; his newfound adrenaline only added to that strength. The bat was hit clear out of the man's hand as he tried to block Chat's blows. The criminal stumbled, falling to the ground with a scared gasp. 

"No, please no!" he cried, hands going out in defense and eyes closing in fear. Chat didn't even hesitate, landing a final blow to his head with more force than he probably should have. Immediately knocked cold, the man dropped fully to the floor. Chat Noir was gasping for breath, anger still clouding his head. 

"I-I...my L-La...”

He was hyperventilating now. He turned to Ladybug, who watched him with a worried expression.

_‘No, don’t look like that, my Lady. Please.’_

Chat's eyesight was becoming blurry, dizzying. Stumbling, he walked toward his partner and she met him halfway. Chat collapsed on top of Ladybug, burying his face in her shoulder. His warm breathing ricocheted it’s way down Marinette’s neck and she shivered. 

"I-I could've lost you," he whispered fearfully into her collarbone as he clutched his Lady tightly. A delicate hand ran gently down the back of his head and Chat emitted a shaky sigh. 

"It's ok. I'm ok. It's all ok now," Ladybug whispered reassuringly.

Chat Noir didn't want her to let go. But as his breathing calmed, he forced himself to stand up straight. Having somewhat regained his composure, the dark clad heroine looked Ladybug firmly in the eyes. 

"We aren't doing this again," he growled resolutely. Ladybug took a step back and glared at him. 

"Why not? We have these miraculous for a reason!" she protested. 

"These aren't Akumas. They're criminals. Real criminals, with guns. They aren't afraid to hurt people. And guess what? When they do, your magical yoyo isn't going to fix anything."

Ladybug still looked unconvinced so Chat pointed to the injured men on the ground and the mess they had caused around the bank. To the people who were peering out fearfully, unsure if it was all over. 

"We put these people in harm's way today. We could've gotten someone killed."

Ladybug looked at the ground, unsure of what to think. A beeping came from Chat Noir’s miraculous.

"I...about used my cataclysm on the guy," Chat admitted, not meeting his Lady’s eyes. "This is how serious it's gotten. _Our_ abilities could land someone in the hospital—or worse—the morgue. This isn't magic and butterflies anymore, this is real world. People could get seriously hurt, and you can't just fix it anymore." He paused for a second. 

"We couldn't even protect everyone when you _could_ fix most everything," he added quietly. Ladybug gasped. 

 _Slap_.

Shocked, all Chat could do was stare at her, his mouth hanging open at a complete loss for words. 

"I get it, ok?! Stop bringing that up! Every day, every fight, every time something goes wrong, it's all you talk about! Those parents, those parents, those parents. You don't think I feel sorry enough, is that it?! You have no idea what I went through when that happened, what I'm going through even now!" she yelled angrily, brow furrowed and face dripping with a mad sweat. A red hand print was visible on Chat's cheek, but he didn't make a move to soothe it. His gaze was too fixed on Ladybug. He had never seen her so enraged at _anything_. 

To have this unnatural outburst be directed at _him?_  

He fought back an urge to cry, and not just from the pain.

Once he was able to tear himself away from the cold glare of the girl in front of him, Chat Noir silently grabbed his staff from the ground. He looked blankly at a wall as he spoke. 

"You go ahead. It looks like the police are here. I'll stay for a minute to help out."

Without hesitation or another word to him, Ladybug left, exiting out of the vent in which they had entered. 

She briskly swung back toward the Agreste home, trying to calm her infuriated thoughts. 

______________________________

 

Marinette landed on her room's balcony, which was conveniently located in the posterior of the house, allowing her to come and leave without being seen. Once detransformed, Tikki flew out and landed on a desk chair. Marinette laid a cookie in front of her, blue eyes glazed over and mind in deep thought.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Marinette," Tikki comforted through a mouthful of sweet. Marinette sighed. 

"What should I do Tikki? Chat thinks we shouldn't help people like that again, but I think we should, and...what do I do? What do _we_ do?" 

The room was silent for a long second. 

"I will admit, this isn't what the miraculous is intended for," Tikki told her honestly. 

_That wasn't what I wanted to hear._

Marinette's buzzing phone interrupted her thoughts, indicating a message. It opened to reveal not one, but ten messages, all of which were from Alya:

\- _Where did you go?_

_\- Are you and Adrien still here?_

_\- Lockdown is over, police are arriving at the scene and apparently the bad guys were caught._

_\- Girl! I just found out it was Ladybug and Chat Noir who caught them! Ugh, so bummed I missed it!!!!! that has to be the first non-akuma fight!_

\- _We are still meeting up at that coffee shop with Adrien and Nino, right?_

_\- Hello?_

_\- Hellllooooo???_

\- _MARINETTE DUPAIN-CHENG WHY DONT U EVER PICK UP YOUR FRICKIN PHONE._

_\- Adrien won't respond either >:( _

_\- Well, now he said he can't come, but at least he replied >:( Whatever, Nino and I are gonna chill without u two. _

Marinette groaned. They were probably still at the coffee shop, where she was supposed to be. She wasn't in the mood anymore, though. 

 _I wonder why Adrien didn't show._  

She frowned at the thought, but shrugged it off concluding the reason being his modeling schedule (or something else related to his hectic life).

\- _I'm not feeling well._  

Marinette clicked send. 

_‘Sorry to have to always be lying to you, Alya.’_

After turning off the lights, the exhausted girl threw herself onto her queen sized bed. But the comfort was short lived. 

 _Thud_.

Marinette's eyes shot open. Had that noise just come from her balcony?

The room in which she resided was on the third floor of the mansion, but there was a large tree that reached up and past even the roof, a tree she figured someone could climb if they really wanted to.

Now that she thought about it, it was the perfect entrance for a burglar.

Back corner of the house, a tall sturdy tree, thick concealing shrubbery surrounding the rest of that section of the yard? What could make it any easier! Marinette grabbed a candlestick from her nightstand and Tikki let out a scared squeak, hiding beneath the bed. 

_Breathe Marinette. Breathe. You're Ladybug. You got this._

In one motion, she threw open the door plus the curtains and brandished the decoration-intended object with malice. A figure in black jumped back out of surprise. Marinett stepped out onto the balcony, her eyes fixed on the character. 

"Who's there?" she demanded. The figure didn't speak. 

"I said, who's there!" Marinette threw on the lights this time. 

She gasped in surprise and dropped the candlestick. 

The intruder was dressed in tight, black leather. A bell hung around his neck and a tail whipped nervously behind his back. Animalistic ears were flattened to the top of his head and his eyes showed he was just as shocked as she was. Marinette's jaw couldn't help but drop.

"Chat Noir?"

___________________________________

Chat Noir stood stock still, frozen, his brain having a complete mental breakdown. 

_‘Why is she here? Why isn't she at the coffee shop? Damn me and my laziness. The one fucking time in months that I don't use a different room or detransform before coming home.’_

Being the most secluded portion of the house, that room had been an easy escape for Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir. 

But that room was no longer his. It was Marinette's now, and had been for five months. He only used it as an entrance anymore when he knew she would be away. 

_‘Why isn't she away now?’_

Chat's thoughts were buzzing at an incredibly pace, but his limbs remained immobile, unsure of whether to wait for Marinette to make the first move or to make the first move himself.

"God," came an exasperated sigh. "You gave me an absolute heart attack!" Marinette was half laughing and half crying out of relief. 

Chat blinked.

"S-sorry about that! I-I didn't mean to disturb you." He scratched the back of his neck timidly. "I was just on my routine patrol."

Marinette's eyes twitched. 

 _‘That's a lie, your patrol route is on the other side of Paris. I came up with your patrol route just to keep you away from here._ ’ Marinette kept her lips pursed to keep from letting out a mocking laugh. 

Chat's eyes caught the doubt and suspicion coating her features, and his hands began to sweat inside his gloves as his anxiousness built up. 

_‘Why don't you believe me?’_

"Actually, I just wanted to check on you," he blurted out. 

_‘Why the hell am I changing my story?! Agreste, abort! Abort!’_

"I-uh ran into Adrien." 

_‘ABORT!’_

“He said you haven't been yourself, that maybe you've been thinking about your parents? I- I don't know. I just felt compelled to-" Marinette’s eyes widened and she looked at the ground. 

 _‘Great. Nice going, Agreste._ _Why did I bring that u_ -‘ Adrien’s thoughts were cut short as tears hit the ground.

"Oh, no. Marinette, please don't cry. I'm sorry, that was too far." 

Before he knew it, tears were welling up in his own eyes. 

Ladybug's last words to him started to bounce around his head. 

“ _Those parents, those parents, those parents! That's all you talk about!”_

 _Yeah, because it was my fault. I'm the reason Marinette's alone. Damn it._  

Marinette gasped as Chat’s strong arms wrapped around her and his body shook. 

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.”

Marinette felt warm tears hit her shoulder. "I-I should've been able to help." 

The princess gently pushed the cat back, tears of her own still flowing gently down her cheek. She stared him hard in the eyes. 

"It wasn't your fault," she said, voice gently firm. "None of it was. You need to let it go, like I have."

 ‘ _I want to believe that, I do, but I can't. I know you aren't fine. Don't deny it. I watch you put up your facade every single day. I'm with you all day each day, but you think I wouldn't notice?’_  

But Chat Noir couldn't say any of it aloud. He wasn't Adrien. Only Adrien was with her every day. Only Adrien could say he truly knew the girl’s situation, but Marinette pushed Adrien away. 

Wait.

_That's it._

An idea formed in the slick cat's head.

"Marinette?" Chat's voice was quiet and hesitant. "I want to come see you again."  Marinette's expression tensed.

_‘Abort!!! WHAT are you DOING?’_

The rational part of his brain wouldn't stop yelling at him, but the masked Agreste ignored it. For so long, he had been unable to do anything to help ease Marinette's pain. And now, as Chat Noir, he had a new chance. He had to do this.  

Marinette hesitated. She had wanted, above anything else, to have someone to vent to--and perhaps this was meant to be her chance? This was someone who felt at least partially the same way she did, someone who felt as much at fault about the event as herself.

She needed this.

 _'Say yes,'_ Marinette’s conscious whispered. 

"Yeah, you can come again.”

A radiant smile lit Chat Noir’s face and he jumped to the balcony’s edge.

"Well then, I guess I'll see you around."

Marinette laughed and grabbed the hero’s tail as he turned to go. 

"Hold on. Just know that Adrien's room is in the front of the house, directly across from mine. He's usually out till late--" 

 _‘Yeah, doing patrols on the other side of Paris because Ladybug just_ had _to have this side.’_

"--but If he's home, I don't want to risk him happening to catch us." 

Chat scoffed silently. 

_‘Well, I can at least promise you that won't happen.’_

"Is that all now, Princess?” he teased with a wink, standing on the railing and bowing. Marinette laughed. 

"Now, you do have a bit of a track record of not landing on your feet, so please be careful on your way out, chaton," she teased back. Chat just laughed, falling backwards off the balcony. Marinette rolled her eyes and smiled to herself.

_What a show off._

But she was grateful for that show off. More grateful than words could ever express.

Marinette closed her curtains and balcony doors gently.

_Time for bed. For real this time._

But fate is a fickle thing. 

A knock sounded on her bedroom door.

_‘What now?’_

"Coming!"

Marinette opened the door and nearly fell back when she came face to face with golden ray of sunshine himself, Adrien Agreste. 

"Why didn't you go to the coffee shop?" he asked immediately, trying to hide a complacent smirk. 

"Well hello to you, too," Marinette laughed with a teasing smile. Adrien raised a brow. 

"Well someone's in a good mood for once in a million years." 

Marinette glared at him and the model raised his hands in defense. "No! I surrender! I want this happy mood to stay, so I'll stay quiet. But seriously, why not the coffee shop?" 

"Wasn't feeling well earlier," she lied (yet again). 

 _‘Was she sleeping when I showed up on the balcony?_ ’ Adrien wondered. 

"I could ask you the same question though. Why didn't you go to the coffee shop, Agreste?" Adrien was snapped out of his pondering. 

"Oh, modeling stuff." (His excuse for absolutely everything in life, be it true or not.)

Marinette accepted it without much question. 

Both teens stared awkwardly at each other for a second longer before Marinette faked a yawn. 

"I'm going to bed," she announced, slowly shutting her door. Adrien nodded and began to walk away. 

"Goodnight!" 

Adrien stopped in his tracks, surprised. Had Marinette Dupain-Cheng just wished him _Goodnight?_

"G-goodnight," he called back. 

_‘In all the months she's been here, she hasn't said goodnight once. Or good morning. Or good anything. She rarely smiles, she never teases me.’_

"Heck, she barely even talks to me," Adrien mused aloud to himself in astonishment. 

The bewildered boy looked over his shoulder at the shut door one last time before entering his own room. He smiled to himself.

_‘Is she really this happy so suddenly... because of me?’_

 

Adrien Agreste drifted to sleep with a smile (that can only be described as adorable) still dazzling his face.

___________________

 

_...Ring...Ring...Ring..._

A phone went off in another section of the Agreste mansion. 

"Yes." 

Mr. Agreste had answered it. 

"Yes. Are you absolutely positive? I will have you hunted down and killed, you know. I hope that's well understood." 

The man on the other end of the line chuckled.

 _"Oh, I understand,_ Monsieur _Agreste, I understand."_


	3. Troubled Talks

"Marinette?" 

It had been two weeks since Chat Noir had begun to visit Marinette regularly. 

"Miss Marinette."

The two would spend hours on end chatting with each other, sometimes crying to each other, and often laughing to their hearts' content.

 _However_.

There was becoming such a thing as 'up too late'. 

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng!" 

Marinette sat straight up in her seat and the entire classroom snickered. 

"Y-yes! Here!" She yelled, eyes still half closed. 

It was twelve o'clock. Middle of sixth period. 

The teacher's eyes hardened and the classroom continued its muffled laughter. 

" _We_ are well aware you are here Miss Dupain-Cheng. I think it is _you_ who is not fully aware of your location. Perhaps a trip to the principal's office will remind you," the annoyed school employee chided, tapping her fingers on Marinette's desk. "I'm sure he would be _delighted_ to hear _all_ about why exactly you are unable to keep your head off your desk and your eyes open during today's sessions."

Before Marinette had the time to reply, the teacher turned around sharply and tapped her pen roughly against the head of the blonde boy in front of her.  

"...Ow..." Adrien whispered incoherently, sounding close to tears as he gripped his skull where the teacher had hit him. He yawned widely. Nino couldn't help but cringe sympathetically for his friend as the teacher continued her ominous glaring. 

"That goes for you as well, Mr. Agreste," she remarked sourly as Adrien sleepily lifted his head, still not completely aware of the situation. "It's seems both you _and_ Miss Dupain-Cheng can go explain your current states to the principal _together_." Adrien groaned inwardly and Marinette sighed as they both stood and walked out of the classroom. 

"Maybe only one of them will end up having to explain, if ya know what I mean," Kim coughed loudly into his arm as the duo made their way out the door. It shut just in time for the class to burst into laughter. 

Marinette rolled her eyes and Adrien yawned uncaringly as they began their walk down the hall. 

"You're tired too, huh?" She sighed, throwing her arms behind her head as she stretched her cramped limbs. The blonde next to her yawned (yet again) in reply. 

"Yep."

Marinette was about to ask why exactly _he_ was tired, but found herself too late as she and Adrien reached the principal’s office. Adrien reached for the door, looking back at Marinette with a sleepy smirk. 

"Ladies first," he teased, opening it wide. Marinette groaned. 

Both teens stepped inside and stood silently. The principal sat slumped in a large swivel chair at his desk, busy going through paper work and giving the duo's presence no acknowledgement. After a minute, Marinette decided to speak up. 

"Um, sir?" She inquired, uncomfortably ringing her fingers. The heavyset man glanced up briefly from his work. 

"My my, what a surprise. Miss Dupain-Cheng. What, pray tell, got you sent here _this_ time?"

Marinette cringed at the sarcastic tone. She was—well—sorta known for doing various things that resulted in a trip to his office. Nothing very bad, rest assured, but punishment worthy nonetheless. Her random disappearances into the 'ladies room’ for entire class periods didn't go unnoticed. She was known for being a bit ditzy, though, so teachers sometimes let that slide, and with Hawkmoth gone Marinette no longer needed those extended bathroom breaks.

Now that she thought about it, she actually hadn't been to the principal in a while. 

"But," the principal continued, turning to face the model to Marinette’s right. "I _am_ truly surprised to see you here, Mr. Agreste." 

It was Adrien's turn to cringe. He was a goody two-shoes. As Chat Noir, he often showed up to battles late during school hours if classes weren't cancelled. He preferred to keep his ‘visits to the restroom’ shorter and less noticeable, and his detention record fairly clean.

Lucky for him, he had been able to operate without much consequence, especially since his teachers showed a good amount of favoritism, letting most matters slide as to 'not trouble his celebrity father'.

The principal audibly sighed, closing his eyes as he rubbed his head. 

"So."

His eyes opened and sternly locked on both of the teens at once.

"What did you do?" 

___________________________________________

 

"We kept falling asleep during classes," Adrien admitted, his face crestfallen. "Sorry we caused so much trouble for the teacher." 

The boy seemed genuinely dissatisfied with his actions. 

Marinette worked hard to suppress an unladylike snort. 

 _Suck up much?_  

She had been one too though. 

I mean, the first five trips to the office of course. 

After that, she had sorta given up being on the principal's good side. 

The man sighed, folding his arms and resting them on his desk. He looked back and forth between the two for a second, then his gaze rested firmly on Marinette. 

"Miss Dupain-Cheng?" 

The girl swallowed nervously. 

"Yes, Mr. Damocles?" 

"Why, might I ask, are you both so tired? Hmm?" He paused and glanced at Adrien. "Late night last night? Together, perhaps?" 

Marinette's tongue caught and she had to fight to keep her jaw from dropping. 

Was his tone suggestive or was that just her?!

 _‘What the hell?! Yeah, we live in the same house, but, seriously?!_ ’

Her eyes turned dark and she glared back at the man defiantly. 

"Any and ALL reasons we may have for our sleep deprived conditions are completely, entirely, wholly, and, might I mention, _verifiably_ separate!" Marinette expounded, slamming her hands down on the prinipal's desk. "Don't be insufferable, Mr. Principal." 

Her face was blushed pink and her expression overtly offended. The principal, taken slightly aback by her outburst, raised his hands in surrender. 

"Did I indicate something? I don't remember ever mentioning anything specific. My apologies if what I said implied something that offended you," he told her. Marinette took a deep breath to regain her composure and Adrien snickered inaudibly from behind her, turning his head to hide an entertained grin. 

"Rest assured, Mr. Damocles, I have a completely appropriate reason for my lack of energy this morning," she told him finally.

Adrien hid a guffaw and started to snicker again. 

But this time, Marinette heard.

All traces of her sweetheart behavior were instantly drawn back. Glaring, Marinette vengefully jabbed a finger in the snickering blonde's direction. "HOWEVER, I can't say the same for him. He was out even later than usual last night, _without_ his father's permission, I'm sure."

Adrien gaped at her. 

"What?! Was not! What proof do you even have that I wasn't home?!" He protested vigorously. 

"Your bedroom door was wide open. I even closed it for you. Unless you were invisible, you weren't there. And, before you use your modeling excuse, Nathalie herself came up and asked where you were. Actually, _I_ covered for you. Told her you were already asleep," Marinette revealed deviously, a complacent smirk forming on her lips. Adrien's jaw dropped.  

 _‘I've been condemned._ ’ 

The boy was trapped.

"I don't know about Mr. Damocles, but I'd rather talk about _your_ late night last night. You were asked first anyways. What late night excuse do _you_ have?" Adrien hissed. The principal just sat there, watching the revealing bicker, completely and utterly amused. 

"I was knitting." Marinette pulled out her phone. "Pictures here to prove it." She waved her phone around like a triumphant toddler. 

 _‘Fucking lies._ ’ 

Adrien knew that. _He_ had been with her!

Adrien glared at her. But glaring daggers was all he was reduced to.

He, as Adrien, couldn't say anything to taint her. 

_________________________

 

"You did _not_ just throw me under the bus like that," Adrien groaned in disbelief as they both left the principal's office. 

"Oh, I so just did. That's what you get for laughing at me instead of trying to say something useful, like 'yeah, she's absolutely right' or maybe ANYTHING along those lines. But NO, You just stood there laughing behind my back the entire time!" Marinette scoffed. After a few seconds, she let out a breath. "Besides, it's not like it matters anyways. He didn't do anything about either of us."

The principal had graciously let both teens off easy, asking them to "please" merely "fix their behavior" before ushering them out of his office. 

"Yeah, but he could've. He could've even involved my father," Adrien protested, rubbing his forehead stressfully. Marinette stopped walking and watched him suspiciously, hand on her hip. Adrien looked back with an unamused expression. 

"What?" He finally asked, exasperated, crossing his arms defensively. 

" _Where_ were you last night? You never exactly clarified that." 

Adrien rolled his eyes. 

"Does what I do with my free time really concern you?" 

"It kinda does when you start having to go to the principal's office because you can't stay awake during class. Your dad would be worried."

"Says the girl who just sat in the principal's office for the exact same reason." 

"Yeah, I had a valid excuse, though." 

"Oh yeah, you sat outside and, apparently, freaking KNITTED until FOUR in the morning. Because we're both _so_ sure that's what you were _actually_ doing," Adrien derided sarcastically, looking her straight in the eyes knowingly. His unconvinced manner took the girl aback. 

_‘Why does he make it sound like he knows something? He wasn't even home. There's no way he could've seen Chat, right?’_

The thought worried her. 

Marinette's eyes twitched visibly. 

 _‘Yeah, that's right. No way in hell you'll get me to bite that excuse,_ ’ Adrien scoffed mentally. He smirked satisfactorily at Marinette's apparent internal conflict. 

"How about, discussion over. You don't have to tell me, so I don't have to tell you," The boy offered decisively, clasping his hands together in an ok-we're-finished-here sort of way. Marinette turned on her heels and resumed the walk toward the classroom, pouting. 

"Fine," she called back, sticking her tongue out at the model like an unimpressed child. 

Both teens paused for a second, fake glaring at each other, before they burst into laughter. 

_________________________ 

 

"Alright class, remember. The project on historic legends is due next Friday. The origin country is your choice, but know I do expect the presentations to be elaborate. This is worth a test grade. It will take some time, so I recommend getting started on it early," the red-headed teacher reminded the class, handing out directions. "You can work with two to four people." 

Nino grinned as she said it. 

 _Convenient_.

He turned to look at Adrien and then back at the two girls behind them. 

"Wanna pair with us? Four heads are better than two," he asked, smiling. Alya and Marinette nodded eagerly in approval as the final school bell rang. 

_____________

 

"So, what place should we do?" Marinette inquired, sipping an iced latte. 

The squad had decided to meet up at the local coffee shop (where they had tried two weeks ago). Being the (unrealistically) responsible teens they were, they had decided to get a head start on their project. 

Alya tapped her chin thoughtfully. 

"What about India, or maybe Ireland, or, ooh, China has some pretty cool legendy stuff. You know, dragons, honor, Disney's Mulan, the whole shebang," she suggested, lazily sipping a mocha. Suddenly, her face lit up and she began scrolling through her phone. The conversation continued without her. 

"Ooh! What about Africa?" Nino asked excitedly, guzzling a juice box. "Voodoo, desert, jungle, pyramid things." 

Adrien couldn't roll his eyes back far enough. 

"Dude, that's a _continent_. That's like saying Europe is France. That's a new level of dumb for you." 

"I'm not failing geography for nothing," Nino returned with a shrug and a glare. "And, bad mood much?" 

Adrien sighed. 

"Sorry, just want to get this figured out and done," he told them, laying his head on the table and spinning a quarter Nino had gotten as change.

"I feel you, soooo, how about this?" Alya asked, her voice mischievous. She held up her phone for the rest of the group to see. There was an article about historic ruins found in Hawaii, but, more interestingly, there was a picture, a picture of what looked like ancient drawings of Paris's very own Ladybug and Chat Noir, along with a few other indistinguishable figures. The article was dated to the paper the month before, lost in the back pages and actually noticed (or cared about) by few.  Marinette gasped slightly and Adrien lifted his head for a better look. 

"You are such a ladybug nut," Nino told his girlfriend, shaking his head in disbelief. "How do you even find this stuff? Honestly, who even reads the newspaper anymore?"

"I wouldn't be much of ladyblogger if I wasn't always keeping my eyes open for the latest news," she teased, pretending to be offended. 

Adrien's mood seemed to perk up instantly. 

"I'm down for it. Where do we start?" Marinette asked. 

"Hey Alya, let me see the article again real quick," Nino requested, reaching for the phone. Alya handed it to him and he studied the article intently. After a minute, he looked up and held the phone for them to see. 

"The source of information for the article is an explorer, researcher, and architect by the name of James Cochran. He's American, but currently resides here in Paris. It says he led an expedition to Hawaii a few years ago. He didn’t think it was very important, until Chat Noir and Ladybug showed up," Nino informed them. Alya nodded her confirmation. 

"Yeah, he said it took him awhile to revisit that expedition and tie the connection, but, once he did, he immediately took it to the paper," Alya added. The group looked at each other and Alya smirked, speaking for all of them. 

"We've gotta find this guy."

 

____________________________________

 

 _Click_. 

The gate to the Agreste mansion confirmed okay passage as Adrien and Marinette arrived home. Nathalie greeted them at the door. 

"Hello Adrien, Marinette. I'm sure you both will be pleased to know you have nothing scheduled for the rest of today," she informed them with her usual straight demeanor, clutching her clipboard in her right arm. Adrien had long concluded that thing to be her life source. 

"Really? I could've sworn I had a shoot today," Adrien admitted, slightly disbelieving. The assistant shook her head in reply. 

"However, you do have a meeting with Mr. Agreste. Both of you." This time, Marinette was surprised. It was rare for Mr. Agreste to have anything to say to his own son, much less her. "He has requested you go see him in his office after you've eaten dinner." 

Both teens glanced at each other and nodded obediently. 

"I wonder what he wants," Adrien muttered to the girl next to him, inaudible to Nathalie. 

Marinette gave only a nervous nod, somewhat lost in her own anxious thoughts. 

_‘It's not like we've done anything, right?’_

Her mind suddenly flashed to her meetings with Chat Noir and Adrien's late night disappearances, and then she froze. 

 _‘God no, please let that not be it._ ’

Marinette concluded, as she glanced at him again, that Adrien mustve been thinking the exact same thing. His expression was lifeless.

Only one thought was running through both their minds. 

 _MI'm so screwed_.’

 

__________________________

 

_...Ring...Ring...Ring..._

A phone rang in another section of the Agreste Mansion. 

"Yes." 

Mr. Agreste had answered it. 

"Yes. We can depart by this next Tuesday. That's my concern, not yours. Worry about your own end of the deal."

The wealthy man looked up as he spoke. A painted window made the solitary room glow with a strange purple light. There was no furniture in the room, not a picture, not anything. The empty space emanated a deep sadness and despair. 

"I already have the tickets. It's all confirmed."

The man on the other end of the line was satisfied.

The phone informed of its disconnection and Mr. Agreste left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!!! I’m working on posting the chaps rn :) I’m new to ao3 sooooo be patient w me. I have a gazillion chapters written!! It’s just a matter of me posting them. This already has so many hits!!! Thank you!!


	4. Spilled Secrets

Marinette chewed her food slowly, trying to think of a way to make her story more convincing.

_‘Knitting. I was knitting. Totally knitting.’_

Adrien hadn't even bought that bluff. 

How in the world could she hope Mr. Agreste would? 

Marinette sighed, stabbing her pork cutlets in frustration as she glanced at the model across the table. His mind seemed to be in just as much of a tizzy as her own, as he nearly missed his mouth attempting to eat a spoonful of rice. 

Nathalie watched the pair, exasperated, from the dining room doorway.

"If you are just going to _play_ with the food, then I suggest we go ahead and get this _extremely unnerving_ situation up and over with," she chided, her hands gripping her clipboard tightly as her brow furrowed.

Marinette had come to realize she did that when she was annoyed. 

She was annoyed a lot.

Adrien was reluctant to leave the safety of the dining room, but stalling more would only increased Nathalie's ever-growing suspicion.

And when Nathalie was suspicious, father’s suspicion quickly followed. 

"Yeah, let's get this over with," he agreed, trying to sound indifferent. As Marinette stood, Nathalie turned toward the stairs and began the ascent. 

Adrien fluidly grabbed Marinette’s arm. 

"Please, whatever excuse I may come up with, just be my alias if I need it. Please," he begged in a whisper. After a pause, Marinette nodded tensely, not looking back as her cheeks blushed red. Adrien let go and the duo continued the rest of the way up in silence. 

They walked down a long, somewhat narrow, hallway, passing many empty rooms used for storage or guests, should they ever have any. At the end of the hallway was Gabriel Agreste's office, the biggest room on the floor. Nathalie came to a halt in front of the door.

She knocked.

"Come in," the man's voice commanded from inside. Nathalie pushed the door open and motioned for the two teens to enter. Adrien gulped and Marinette clutched her hands together tightly. 

“ _I'm nervous”_ might as well have been plastered on both their foreheads. 

Gabriel looked up as they walked in.

"Have a seat," he ordered, motioning to two cushioned seats in front of his desk. The pair sat obediently, hands on their laps and eyes slightly averted. Mr. Agreste eyed them warily and sighed.

"If it will alleviate the despairing looks on both your faces, I assure that you are not in trouble," the man told them, standing up to stretch his legs as he talked. Adrien sighed a slight breath of relief and Marinette relaxed in her chair.

"However, I do have some news for you," he continued as he paced the room slowly. He stopped walking and turned toward them.

"I will be departing for Hawaii this coming Tuesday. I'm having trouble with my fashion line there and I need to go make some changes in person, to both staff and product. You will both be coming with me."

Adrien nearly choked on his own spit.

"What?" he asked in disbelief. His father almost never opted to take him on business trips, not ever since his mother had vanished, anyways.

"Adrien, this trip is further than most trips I have, and I do not wish to leave you and Mademoiselle Marinette alone in the house for so long," he stated bluntly, glaring at the boy as if to scold his rude tone and utterly apparent lack of thought.

Adrien uncharacteristically glared back.

"Oh my, _alone_. How new. It would be a crime to be alone in this house with Marinette, especially since we're so usually not alone. We‘re always under constant supervision. Whatever would we do with a little alone time?" he growled slash mumbled. His father just continued to glare back at him calmly.

"I have granted Nathalie some vacation time also. Therefore, she will not be coming with us, or be here. You would _truly_ be alone in this house, if that satisfies your train of thought. And, please Adrien, mind your language." Gabriel's tone was cold and calculating, his eyes daggers, daring his son to try and defy him.

Adrien knew he was right. It would be indecent for him and Marinette to spend a long period of time alone together in the house. He also knew his father probably didn't really care about that, though. He just wanted to maintain social standings. It would be frowned upon to leave the two behind unattended, and he knew his father didn't want that kind of poor image.

Adrien's fists clenched. He was done talking. There was nothing more to say.

"It could be really fun. I've never even seen the ocean before by the way." 

Marinette had suddenly spoken up. 

Adrien felt like laughing. 

She's was just too optimistic sometimes. 

He glanced at her, unimpressed.

_'Nothing with him is ever fun, believe me.'_

But he bit his tongue and kept the snide comment to himself, only sighing in reply.

_______________________

 

"Adrien."

Marinette left the room with Nathalie and the door was shut behind them, only Adrien remaining.

"Yes, father?"

"Your demeanor toward me was completely uncalled for and brash."

"Yes, father. I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me."

"You will not be punished, but take this as a warning. Your attempts at showing off for the Dupain-Cheng girl will not be tolerated. If you wish to impress her, do it with your smile and warm character, not your bland wit." 

To Adrien's utmost shock, his father's tone was edged with softness.

A sense of understanding. 

Adrien's jaw dropped. 

"W-we aren't like that!" he protested. Gabriel eyed his boy with a small hint of amusement. 

"Ah, yes. That's right. You love Ladybug, correct?"

"W-what?" 

Adrien suddenly felt nauseas. What even was this conversation? Why did his father care?

"Her pictures are plastered across every one of your computer screens and walls. Do you honestly think I pay that little attention to you?" Gabriel's sounded the closest Adrien had ever heard to hurt. "You may leave now Adrien."

Adrien left almost wishing it _had_ been his late night disappearances his father had wanted to talk about.

____________________

"What do you mean _Hawaii_ this coming Tuesday?!" Alya screamed over the phone. "With Adrien too?!"

Marinette winced as Alya's voice rang loudly in her ear.

"I just found out myself, we both did," she told her.

"We don't have much time," Alya whispered gravely in reply.

"What?" Marinette didn't know what her best friend was talking about most of the time, and this was one of those times.

"We don't have much time! You need a swimsuit!" She exclaimed again excitedly. "We're gonna blow that model away with your hot body, girl!

Marinette froze, then smiled.

This was the perfect chance. Best of all, no Nathalie to bother them.

"Mall in an hour?"

________________________

       

"That's it, now strike a pose!"

Alya dramatically demonstrated her own words, casting her head downwards with her hands on her hips.

"I would make that blonde bitch jealous with my talent," she scoffed arrogantly. Marinette rolled her eyes and laughed.

"I'm sure he would _love_ to hear you call him that to his face," she teased, looking in the mirror, judging the third bikini she had tried on. "So what do you think of this one?" 

Alya snickered and then directed her attention to the suit Marinette had on. She clasped her hands in delight.

"I. Love it."

Marinette had to agree with her. The suit was a bright red top with a black bottom. The top had good support, and tied behind the neck and back. The bottom tied at one hip. Marinette looked at her friend happily.

"Does this mean we're done?"

Alya had located at least ten more suits that were 'mandatory' to try on, and the girl was eager to skip them. 

Alya nodded.

"You've got me. This one's the winner."

_Bzz. Bzz. Bzz._

Alya's phone began to buzz in the check out line and she flipped it open. After a few seconds she looked up, a satisfied smile on her face.

"I have an awesome boyfriend. Guess who just located that expedition guy, James Cochran?"

Marinette looked at her, surprised.

_Already? That was fast._

Alya looked back down at her phone as it pinged again.

"He's currently working as a part time editor for Vogue Paris, he says." She looked up from her phone. "Let's get your swimsuit quick. I bet we could catch this guy at his work place right now if we hurried."

____________________

 

Adrien's bike skid to a stop in front of Vogue Paris headquarters, a fairly tall black building, clearly modern. He quickly noticed that he had been the last to arrive as his friends jogged toward him.

"What took you so long?" Nino whined. Adrien sighed apologetically.

"Sorry, I'm scared that my dad will say no to stuff most of the time, so I tend to ride a bike around. Not very fast, I know, but it's all I got," he explained with a shrug. Marinette nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, it'd be same for me if I wasn't with Alya already," she added. Alya looked at everyone, impatiently tapping her foot and glancing at her phone's clock.

"Guys, _let's go_. This place closes in less than an hour." Adrien hadn't noticed how late it'd gotten. It was past six, and the office closed at seven. The sun had already started to set in the distant west of the city. 

The teenage squad rushed into the building and toward the front desk.

"May we see James Cochran?" Alya asked immediately. The receptionists looked at her warily.

"Do you have an appointment?" Asked the one on the left.

"No."

"You need an appointment to speak wi-" the one on the right started.

"Please! We're close friends with his daughter. They both recently suffered a tragic loss with his wife dying and all," Alya bluffed, faking a dramatic expression and rubbing her head in sadness. Adrien did his best not to laugh. The group must've preplanned this without him. "His daughter is already up there and told us to come right away." 

\- _Where are you?! Alya, please hurry. Just bring the others too._

Alya held up her phone with the message for the girls at the desk to see. Adrien could only guess that Alya had had Marinette fake the message to her.

"See! She needs us! Please! We'll only be a moment!" the girl pleaded. The receptionists looked at each other, then sighed.

"Fine. Fourth flour. First office on the right. He has a name sign," the left one tiredly informed the group. They nodded their thanks and headed toward the elevator.

_________________

_Back at the receptionists:_

"He doesn't have a daughter. Heck, he's never even been married," the left told her companion without a tone of care.

"Yep, they were totally lying. But how many times do we get such interesting people dropping by? Mr. Cochran didn't have anymore appointments anyways," The right noted with a bored expression. The left chuckled.

"True."

_________________

 

"Here it is," Marinette stated for everyone as they stood outside of an office. They looked around at each other hesitantly.

"Well? Someone knock!" Alya exclaimed, pushing Nino toward the door. He rolled his eyes and brought his hand up, but the door suddenly flung open. A middle aged American man in slipping glasses walked out, carrying a large stack of papers in his hands. His phone was lodged between his face and shoulder as he attempted to hold a conversation while carrying the heavy load. The four teens watched him amusedly.

"Y-yes Clarence," he stuttered in French with a thick American accent. "I'll have it done..."

Suddenly, he seemed to notice the four (mildly out of place) teens watching him. He stopped his fumbling.

"Um, Clarence? Can I call you back?" The man turned on his heels and disappeared into his office once again, reappearing seconds later without the papers or phone. His face was smiling and his glasses were pushed back in place.

"May I help you? I wasn't aware I had any appointments scheduled for this time," he told the group, glancing at his watch. Alya cleared her throat.

"Um, we're sorry to intrude. We don't actually have an appointment," she admitted, gripping her phone. "But, we do have some questions, about this." Alya lifted her phone to his field of vision, showing him his article about the Hawaiian Temple Expedition. Mr. Cochran blinked in surprise and Alya took a deep breath.

"Can we ask them?"

_________________________

 

"The expedition was riveting! Such a rich learning experience," the chipper man started with excitement. Upon learning the reason for their interest was for a project, he had eagerly agreed to share what he had learned. "The article wasn't even the half of it," he stated, a twinkle of adventure in his eyes. 

All were seated in chairs dragged in from surrounding offices. Alya leaned forward seriously. The questioning session was ready to commence.

"Ok, first question," she started, looking at her notes. "What were the ruins like? A village? A graveyard? Describe them please."

"Foreign. Completely foreign."

Alya looked at him, completely unimpressed.

"Well, yes, it's in Hawaii, but..."

"No, let me finish," the man continued seriously. "When I say foreign, I mean completely foreign. The ruins there, they didn't belong to the region." Mr. Cochran clenched his hands together as he leaned in toward the attentive teenagers. Suddenly, he whirled around in his swivel chair and reached behind his desk. After pulling out a drawer, he grabbed a handful of pictures. He swiveled back over to them and spread the photos out on the floor. The group pushed their chairs back and sat on the ground for a better look.

"Tell me," Mr. Cochran asked, his voice deep. "What language do you see there? Because I can tell you right now, that it is most certainly not Hawaiian." Adrien studied the pictures hard, his eyes widening.

"It's in more than five different languages!" he exclaimed in surprise, holding a photo up to examine it. His comrades looked at him with raised brows and he shrugged. "It's not like I can actually read them, I just recognize the languages since my dad has made me study various ones," he explained, turning back to the photos. Mr. Cochran nodded.

"'More than five is an extreme understatement, kid. Languages from all over the world, seems as long as they could be transcribed to paper, were on those walls, from some of the newest languages to the oldest. Mandarin, Japanese, Korean, Hindi, Vietnamese. Even European languages: English, French, Spanish, all of them. Even from the Americas, countries on the other side of the world. Aztec, Mayan, Zapotec— languages almost indecipherable. African languages too, you name it," the man continued on intriguingly. Even he seemed astounded by his story. Alya's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"Ok, how and why are all these languages there?" She asked, eyes wide behind her glasses. Mr Cochran shook his head in dismay.

"Sadly, I have no idea why or how all this got there. The architecture of the ruins-- they themselves are like nothing we've ever seen. A type of building not native to any culture to have been known to exist. The outside of the temple was pyramidish, not a concept native to Hawaii. We hoped to find where it came from by examining the inside, but, as I said, it's been nothing but a mixture of everything." The man paused, as if contemplating something. "However, I have a secret..." he started slowly. "...One I haven't told anyone." He swiveled back to his desk, pulling out one more photo. He reluctantly handed it to Nino to pass around the group. Nino's eyes widened as he looked at it.

"Wow! Dude, it's, like, alien," he exclaimed, turning and handing the photo to Adrien. Adrien examined it.

It seemed to be a room within the temple, but it was different than the rest. It was unlike anything he had ever even seen. The picture revealed a strange tiled walkway leading up to a door, a strangely decorated door. On either side of the walkway was dark water, filled with lily pads. Around the edge of the room, which was actually quite small, were tall casket-looking statues with carved heads, not of people, but of various animals. The thing, however, that intrigued him most was the mentioned door at the end. Adrien looked up at the man.

"What was through the door?" he asked.

Mr. Cochran shrugged.

"Dunno. I stumbled on this room by accident. Vines were covering a portion of the wall and I was running my fingers along it when my hand must've triggered some sort of mechanism. The wall spun around, and I was in this room. I took some pictures and was about to check out the other door when I heard my companions coming. I don't know why, but I had the sudden urge to keep it secret, the urge that it _should_ be kept secret. I managed to trigger the wall again and I kept my mouth shut the rest of the expedition. I always meant to return to the room, but I never got another chance," he explained, sounding slightly regretful. There was another silent pause.

"The words," came Marinette's voice. Everyone turned to look at her. So far, she had been the only one not to speak.

"Hmm?" Asked Mr. Cochran.

"The words, on the walls of the temple, what do they say?" She asked. The man smiled excitedly, ready to spill everything he knew.

"Stories! They seem to be ancient stories!" He exclaimed, pointing to the photographs. "All of them, in each language, are different ones! Tales of heroes and magic. When I first deciphered some of them, I played them off as nothing but old folk lore about animal spirits and gods and such. But when Ladybug and Chat Noir appeared and I remembered some of the images on the walls, I thought that, just _perhaps,_ they might be related." Alya was practically shaking with excitement.

"Ohhh, if only we could go to Hawaii," she moaned, clenching her fists out of frustration. The man laughed.

"Good luck with that. Even if you could get into the country, getting to the ruin site itself was a task. It is deep within the remaining rainforest, no paths no markers no maps. You want to see it, you have to find it. It took us well over a day to locate it once we got to there. The natives are too scared of the place to be of any assistance. They claim it haunted, though I don't know by what."

_Ring...Ring...Ring..._

It was Mr. Cochran's phone. He sighed and picked it up.

"Sorry, let me answer this real quick," he excused himself, standing up and walking outside the office.

"Ugh Clarence, I told you that I would call _you_ later, not you call me. I'm still in the middle of something." The door closed behind the man as he continued to talk on the phone. The group looked at each other.

"Dude, this stuff is deep," Nino stated, breaking the silence. "I don't even know what to think." 

The group nodded their agreement.

"It'd be cool ya know, to actually find out where Ladybug and Chat Noir came from," Alya added, back on her phone doing whatever. Adrien himself didn't know what to make of the findings. Ruins in Hawaii? Every language known to man? Secret room? Strange door? It all made his head hurt.

_Bzz. Bzz. Bzz._

It was Alya's phone.

"Ugh, my mom needs me back ASAP. Guests coming over for dinner. Greeeeat." She sounded less than thrilled. Marinette stood up.

"Ok, then I guess I'm going too, unless Adrien happens to have an extra bike," she said, stretching her cramped limbs. The boy shook his head.

"Nope. No such luck. Sorry," Adrien told her with a chuckle. "But I guess I should head back too, before my dad worries." 

Nino groaned.

"So you're all leaving? Well, I'm not about to stay here alone, and I guess this place is closing anyways," he said, looking at his watch. The group picked up the photos, laid them on the desk, then stepped out of the small office. Mr. Cochran noticed and waved as they made their way towards the elevator, smiling brightly.

Once outside, the four all went their separate ways, each trying to process the intriguing information they had just received.

_____________________

"Tikki, the stuff the guy told us, is it really related to the miraculous?" Marinette asked the Kwami as she sat on her bed. Tikki came up to float in front of her face.

"I don't know Marinette. I've heard tales, but usually that's all they were, tales. I've never heard of any ancient temple or anything," she told her master, but her eyes were slightly averted.

_____________________

"Plagg, so is any of it true? Or better yet, does any of it have to do with the miraculous?" Adrien asked his Kwami eagerly once safely inside his room. Plagg had an unusual expression on his face, and his Camembert sat next to him, untouched. His eyes were distant. Adrien frowned and tapped his head worriedly. "Plagg, are you ok?" Plagg snapped out of it and looked at the boy.

"I...don't remember," he answered uneasily. Adrien looked at him weirdly.

"What do you mean 'you don't remember'?" he asked, exasperated. "So you _do_ know something?" 

Plagg sat still, looking slightly shaken.

"I might, but I'm not sure. I feel like I do anyways, but it's like I have no memories of it. Just a feeling, a weird feeling. Like bad Déjà Vu," he began slowly. "I saw the pictures. Something clicked with me when I saw them. I don't remember the place itself. But... it felt familiar." The Kwami clenched his head in frustration. "I don't remember anything, like... I don't know, it's been erased? Or something along those lines."

 Adrien sighed.

"Plagg. That doesn't make any sense."

__________________

 

_...Ring...Ring...Ring..._

A phone went off in the far side of the Agreste mansion, in a dark room that was lit only by a large stained glass window. The room emanated a deep sadness and despair.

"Yes."

Mr. Agreste had answered it.

"Yes, I'm aware, fully aware. Don't worry, it doesn't matter. It makes no difference."

The man on the other end of the phone line chuckled, then continued talking.

"Really? That fast? The sooner the better, and if everything is ready on your end then it's ready on mine. We can happily depart Monday instead," Gabriel reassured the caller.

The line informed of its disconnection.

"Nathalie," Gabriel spoke as his assistant began to exit the room. The prim lady looked over her shoulder, clipboard clutched tightly in her arms as always. "Change of plans. Your vacation begins Saturday."

Nathalie nodded.

"Understood."


	5. Did I St-Stutter?

" _What's your hardest subject in school?" Marinette asked, twirling a pencil between her fingers. Chat Noir groaned and bit his lip._

_"Math. By far. Math."_

_The girl laughed. "Mine's geography."_

_Chat's eyes widened, as if surprised._

_"What? The perfect Marinette struggles with something?" he asked, teasingly befuddled. She giggled._

_"I'm not that great, you know," she scoffed. "I'm sure you're very great at everything you do, though. You're probably the player of the school. All the girls around you. The envy of every guy, because of your pretty eyes and hair...."_

_Marinette was beginning to fall asleep in her chair._

_Chat Noir smiled as her head fell to rest on his shoulder._

_"Merci. Glad to know what your image of me is," he chuckled. The dark clad knight stayed with his princess till she was fully asleep._

_In fact, he nearly always did that as of late._

_Marinette, at first, had been wary of these gestures, feeling as though they were a touch too flirtatious._

_But she never protested._

_So the cat never stopped._

The girl didn't feel like fighting the crowd, so she remained seated as everyone poured into the hallway toward the cafeteria. Soon, besides the teacher, Marinette was the only one remaining in the classroom. Slowly, after everyone was gone, she stood up to make her way out of class. But luck, apparently, outside the suit was not her forte. 

 _Click_. 

The room was plunged into total darkness and Marinette sickeningly realized the clicking was that of the now-locked door. 

 _‘Crap_.’

“Miss Bustier!” Marinette called out, but the teacher was long gone. 

Marinette stumbled toward the class door in the dark, trying hard not to trip and break her neck. 

_‘You have got to be kidding me.’_

"Wait!" she yelled again. After a painful few seconds, she found her way to the door. 

‘ _Maybe it wasn't locking I heard,_ _right_ ’

Marinette didn't stop to contemplate it much as she grabbed for the handle. 

Her hand came back with nothing but air. The door fell open and bright light from the hallway flooded the classroom.

 _Slam_. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Adrien was pining. 

Again.

But how could he not? It'd been weeks since he'd seen his Lady. Without a Hawkmoth to fight, there seemed to be no need for a Ladybug or Chat Noir.

Adrien’s heart hurt just thinking about it. He knew he should be grateful, but...he missed the sporadic moments with Ladybug the akumas would gift him. 

Adrien was lost in his thoughts of his Lady, he completely forgot his backpack when dismissed for lunch. Dismayed, the boy groaned and raced back down the hall in an (uncharacteristically) reckless manner after explaining himself to Nino.

_‘What if someone opens it to check whose it is? What if they see Plagg?’_

The thought worried Adrien to no end and his pace quickened.

"Adrien? Please walk!" a familiar voice called. Adrien stopped running and turned to find Miss Bustier. "Did you need something?"

When Adrien nodded and explained for the second time his negligence, the teacher offered him the keys in return for them back immediately after. The boy gave her a quick set of thanks and began his sprint down the hall again, oblivious to the teacher's yells from behind him to, once again, please, slow down. 

_‘Please, still be here.’_

Adrien reached the classroom and shoved the keys into the lock. In one powerful motion, he threw the door open, bolted inside, and—

 _Slam_. 

The model felt another body make hard contact with his own, knocking the breath from his lungs. Adrien lost his balance. Simultaneously, him and his collidee hit the ground with a yelp.

"Ow," a female voice muttered. The bright light of a phone blinded the model's eyes.

"Adrien?" 

The blonde adjusted to the brightness. 

"Marinette!" 

The girl's blue eyes were wide and dilated, a pretty pink tinting her cheeks. 

"S-sorry!" she stammered. 

"N-no! I-I'm sorry!" Adrien stuttered back. He could feel his cheeks growing warm as he stood up. 

Marinette was panting for air, clearly startled out of her mind. 

“D-dang, Marinette. I-I’m so sorry. That was so careless of me.” 

Adrien’s face reddened all the more as he fumbled over his words. 

_‘Since when do I trip over my tongue?’_

It hit him _._

_Since I’ve met Marinette. Really met Marinette. That’s when._

" _Night Adrien! Great job on the algebra homework. You're really getting better!" Marinette praised him._

Ever since the Chat Noir visits started, Adrien and Marinette had managed to grow closer, the girl's stuttering ceasing to a minimum.  

_"Napping midday? You sure do need a lot of beauty sleep."_

Adrien loved when she teased him. It was fun. Playful.

And, to put it shortly, Adrien found her amazing.

Everyone found her amazing.

Marinette was so kind and fun toward everyone. And, now, _everyone_ included Adrien, too. 

And he liked that more than he might’ve cared to admit. 

She was a great leader, smart, beautiful, ditzy, confident—all of it rolled into one awesome person _._

_A person a lot like..._

Adrien's muscles clenched. 

 _...Ladybug_. 

Marinette reminded him of Ladybug. 

_‘Is that it? Is that why I'm suddenly flustered around her?’_

Adrien was so lost in thought (again) that he missed Marinette's entire rant about how it was her own fault for running into him and how she now accepted they would probably never have a hamster.

"W-what? No. I'm sorry. I was the rush in an idiot. I mean, I was the idiot in a rush," the model blurted suddenly with a nervous chuckle.

"It's alright," Marinette finally said, grudgingly accepting the apology. Adrien looked at her, unconvinced. Marinette rolled her eyes and gave him a smile with a reassuring wave. "Seriously," she insisted. "It's fine."

 _Click_. 

The whole room was flooded with light. 

"Um."

The duo turned toward the door.

"Bro, why are you guys in here with the lights off? I'm no genius, but wouldn't it be easier to find your backpack with them on?" 

Adrien sighed a breath of relief. It was just Nino.

"Yeah, Adrien. It'd be much easier to find your backpack with the lights on, considering that _is_ why you're here, right?"

Alya stood confidently behind her boyfriend, a mischievous and evil smile playing her lips. 

"Yeah, I'm just here for my bag," Adrien confirmed, (seemingly) oblivious to Alya's suggestive tone. He feigned innocence a lot. 

It was an easy way to deter awkward situations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still posting chapters :) more will be up within the hour


	6. Love is a Fickle Thing

"I swear, Alya, nothing happened in the classroom. You know our status. In the words of the golden prince himself: 'just friends,'" Marinette groaned to her friend.

Alya sighed defeatedly. 

"We've recently talked more, but that's it. We tease and stuff too, but that's about the extent of our relationship," the girl continued. "He didn't even say anything besides 'I'm sorry' like six times. You know how he is." 

"Nino said Adrien likes someone."

Marinette's ears perked. 

"What? Who?"

"Adrien wouldn't tell him."

A sickening feeling pooled in the pit of Marinette's stomach.

"We should just ask him ourselves," Alya stated. Marinette gasped. 

"J-Just ask him? Are you insane?" She cringed, burying her face in a pillow and shaking her head. "I couldn't do it. I'd break down mid sentence." 

Alya's expression hardened. 

"I could do it."

"But then he'll know Nino told someone, and I don't want to undermine Adrien's trust in Nino," Marinette sighed sympathetically.

Alya smiled softly. Her best friend was just too amazing sometimes.

"You're right, girl. I won't say anything."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alya liked to talk. A lot. And sometimes, Marinette just wanted her to shut up and go to sleep. Tonight was one of those nights. 

"Alya," she whined, covering her head with her pillow. "We are going to bed NOW." 

After nearly thirty more minutes of continuous chatter, Alya finally seemed to agree to sleep and her voice stopped.

Marinette looked over. She was out cold. _Finally_. 

But no matter how much she tried, Marinette herself couldn't sleep. Adrien's secret love interest weighed heavily on her mind, like a brick on a scale.

Finally, she gave up on drifting off and got out of bed, walking out onto Alya's balcony. There were two chairs (where the two friends often did their homework together) and Marinette took a seat in one of them.

Warm air swished through her hair and she breathed in the peaceful breeze. 

It was so quiet. So perfect.

"Hey, mind if I join you?"

And it suddenly became all the better. 

Marinette looked up in surprise and a big smile struck her face.

"Chat Noir!" 

The black clad hero bowed with a grin and jumped down from the ledge. 

"You weren't at the house. Adrien had to point me here. You could've at least given me some sort of warning," he purred as if hurt. Marinette laughed and mockingly pat his head. 

"There, there," she teased. "Sorry I didn't tell you. It was a bit of a last minute decision sort of thing." 

_‘Wait a second...’_

"Hold on, _Adrien_ told you I was here?!"

Something flashed through Chat's eyes, but it was gone in the same instant. 

"Yeah. I didn't know where you were. So I just asked."

He made it sound like the most normal thing in the world. 

"You legitimately went and _found him_? _Just to ask where I was_?"

Marinette couldn't believe him. Had he really just blown that the two had been meeting?! And to Adrien, no less?!

Another scary thought flashed through her head. 

_‘What if Adrien thinks there's something between me and—‘_

Marinette shook her head to clear it. She didn't even want to think about that.

Chat Noir put a reassuring hand to the frantic girl's shoulder. 

"It's fine. I didn't mention our nightly endeavors." His suggestive tone coupled with his smirk almost made Marinette slap him. "I saw him outside and told him I needed to speak to you. So, he gave me the address to this place." 

Chat's hand fell from Marinette's shoulder and he turned to look out over Paris, his face directed so that the girl couldn't see it. 

He sighed.

The sigh was heavy, meaningful. There was something he wanted to say. 

"Princess."

Marinette shivered at his nickname for her.

"May I confide something in you?"  His voice was delicate. 

Vulnerable. 

Marinette relaxed and smiled softly, coming to stand next to the heroine. 

"Of course," she breathed. 

 The beautiful stranger breathed out lightly yet again.

"I'm in love with Ladybug."

Marinette's eyes widened and Chat Noir’s throat cleared nervously.

"But I don't think she feels the same way." 

 _‘Did he really just indirectly confess his love to me? What am I supposed to say?_ ’

Marinette glanced at Chat. He looked, not quite crestfallen, but...down. Weighted. As if this were a burden he had grown accustomed to carrying. 

Marinette hated to see him like this. She didn’t want to give false hope. 

But maybe...

"Do you....want to know who _I_ like?"

It wasn't reassurance, or even assurance of any kind. But, if it would make him feel better, she'd more than willingly share her own unrequited love story.

"I feel like a middle school girl at a sleepover," he said with a light chuckle. "Alright, who is it?"

"Promise not to laugh."

"Promise." 

"Adrien Agreste." 

Chat Noir choked on air and about fell off the balcony as Marinette glared at him. 

"I said don't laugh!" she seethed, her face reddening from embarrassment.

A wild and teasing grin crossed the vigilante's face. 

"Adrien Agreste, huh? _Interesting~..._ Don't you live with him?" 

"I take it back. Forget I said anything," Marinette groaned.

"Oh, no, Princess. The cat is out of the bag, now. There's no putting it back in," Chat Noir tsked teasingly, leaning toward his distraught, pretty friend. 

"One word to him," Marinette threatened firmly. "And I tell Ladybug everything you've said." 

Chat laughed, but his expression turned wistful. Like the words had grazed an old, unsealable wound and left it to sting. 

"I'm afraid your threat means nothing to me, princess,” he said softly. “I already tell her. Every time we meet. Every chance I get...I tell her, in some way, exactly how I feel."

Marinette’s tongue caught in her throat at his sincerity and her cheeks tinted pink as her eyes moistened ever the slightest. 

The masked cat smiled gently at her expression and loss for words. 

"It's ok, Marinette. You don't have to console me. I've already accepted this as my story." He chuckled. "My own romantic Shakespearean tragedy."

The cat left. 

And a steady stream of pitying tears drizzled themselves down the princess's cheek.


	7. Beauty and the Bug

Marinette looked out the window of the jet as it prepared to leave. Adrien sat next to her, tiredly texting Nino and occasionally staring off into space.

"Prepare for take off," came the captain's voice over the speakers. 

Adrien turned to Marinette. 

"Sooo, it's really your first time going to a beach?" he asked. 

Marinette nodded with an excited grin, her white teeth glimmering, and Adrien couldn't help but be reminded that this wonderful girl liked him. 

Butterflies fluttered in his stomach at the thought. He didn’t return her feelings, but that did nothing to stop his body from appreciating the fact someone so incredible thought of him the way he thought of Ladybug.

Adrien knew it was selfish for him to be happy when he knew _exactly_ how it felt to have an unrequited love.  

But, damn, did being wanted feel good. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After nearly fifteen and a half hours of flight and two stops for fuel, the plane arrived to its final destination. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marinette bit her lip as she watched Adrien pace the hotel room.

"I literally can't believe this. Literally can't," he kept saying. "We're in Hawaii and we're not even allowed out." Gabriel Agreste had ordered the pair to stay in the hotel while he attended to whatever-it-was he was attending to, which made Adrien more than a little peeved. 

"He probably just wants to keep us safe," Marinette tried to reason, hoping to calm him. “It’s late here anyways. It’s nearly ten o’clock.” 

Adrien just sighed and flung himself onto his bed as Marinette picked up her phone to text Alya.

As the steady drum of her fingers reached Adrien's ears, his thoughts began to travel elsewhere. Away from his anger. 

He watched Marinette from the corner of his eye. 

_‘I wish I loved you instead of Ladybug. It'd make my life a lot easier.’_

"I'm going to my room. We should probably be off to bed soon," the girl stated without looking up from her phone. 

"Sounds good."

Marinette walked through the door that connected their hotel rooms and closed it behind her. 

"What's wrong, Marinette? It's hardly nightfall and you're getting to spend quality time with Adrien. Why end it?" Tikki asked suddenly, flying up to her master's face. Marinette whipped out her phone and showed it to her kwami. 

The Ladybug article glowed on the screen. 

"We're going to go find that temple," she declared. Tikki's eyes widened. 

"I don't know if we should."

Marinette raised a brow. 

"Why not?"

"Something about this is giving me strange deja vu, though I can't really place it," the kwami said with a sigh.

"It'll be fine," Marinette assured her. "We find it, we check it out, we leave. We're actually in Hawaii! Why not?" 

Tikki sighed reluctantly then nodded in agreement. Marinette smiled.

_‘What could go wrong?’_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Ladybug zipped down from her window, the cool night wind crisply struck her cheeks. She gracefully landed at the foot of the hotel and pulled out her yo-yo (on which she was conveniently able to access the article).

“If I were a secret temple in the rainforest, where would I be,” she muttered to herself. 

"L-Ladybug?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hawaii was not Paris. 

It was not France. 

It wasn’t even Europe. 

Hawaii was on the opposite side of the world. 

“L-Ladybug?”

So _who the hell_ was saying her name in _perfect French_ in _Hawaii_? 

The spotted hero muffled a shriek and spun around.

Adrien Agreste stood in stupefied shock not even ten feet from her.

 _‘Great. Just great_.’

"H-how are you here? W-why are your here?" He spazzed all at once. His body was practically dancing with excitement. 

But also suspicion. 

_'I could ask you the exact same thing, Agreste.'_

Why exactly _was_ he outside?

"Ah-um-eh--A-Adrien Agreste, right? What a, erm, surprise to find you here?"

Adrien shook his head. 

"Business trip for my father." 

 _'Ok, but why are you outside?'_ Marinette still wondered.

"But, why are _you_ here, Ladybug?" 

_‘Stupid Agreste. Looking so stupidly perfect and innocent.’_

But he wouldn't get her that easily.

"Ever seen this?" Ladybug asked. She held up her yo-yo that still flowed with the article. The model’s eyes widened and he nodded. 

"Y-yeah! Some friends and I are actually using that for a school project. So, that's why you're here?"

Ladybug nodded in confirmation.

"It's where I'm headed now, actually."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Adrien hated business trips. 

He honestly hated trips in general because trips meant time away from his superhero duty and—most honestly—Ladybug. 

But, suddenly, Hawaii was no longer just ‘another business trip’. 

It wasn’t even a vacation.

It was heaven. 

Adrien Agreste was in heaven. 

 _Ladybug_ was _here_. 

In _Hawaii._  

 _With him._  

"It's late. Are you staying in this hotel?" Ladybug suddenly asked. Adrien’s brain snapped back to the forefront at the sound of her voice. 

‘ _Don’t make a fool of yourself, Agreste,’_ he pleaded with himself _. ‘Be smooth.’_

“Sorry, what did you say?”

‘ _Smooth, Agreste. Smooth.’_

“I asked if you were staying in this hotel,” she repeated. 

_'Yeah, and a little company wouldn't kill me. Want to come up?’_

"Yeah, I‘m staying here,” he replied, somewhat dimly. 

"Then, you should go back up before you're—uh—missed."

_'If you'll go with me, I’ll definitely consider it.'_

"No way. If you're going, you're taking me with you!” 

"No way."

"Yes way."

"I said no. That's final,” the bug resolved. 

Adrien knew his Lady was stubborn. 

And he knew his antics didn’t work often. 

But he couldn’t resist a try. 

"Awww, come on, Ladybug. Pleeeeease?" 

Adrien Agreste coupled the pathetic whine with a heart stopping smile and wide eyes, his trademark (usually unsuccessful) beg as Chat Noir. 

And, to the unmasked cat’s utmost surprise, Ladybug's resolution _cracked_. 

"Fine," she grumbled. "You win. You can come. Just try not to slow me down."

Adrien mentally stumbled for a second, shocked that his Lady had given in so easily. 

“Wait, seriously? I can come?” he asked, still incredulous. 

Ladybug raised an (uncharacteristically shy) brow. 

“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” 

Adrien almost could've _sworn_ the spotted heroine's cheeks blushed as she turned away from him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

" _Why_ would you ask to go with her as _Adrien_ when you could go as Chat Noir _instead_ ," Plagg whined loudly as Adrien quickly changed into clothing more suited for rough travel (a white t-shirt, sweats, and tennis shoes to be exact). The boy rolled his eyes at the kwami. 

"We've been over this. She knows that Adrien—me!—is here. So, if Chat Noir just appeared all of a sudden, it'd be suspicious!" he explained for what felt like the millionth time. "Besides, you say you don't even like transforming!" 

Plagg grumbled and flew into his master's sweatpants pocket. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Y-you don't even seem the least bit scared," Ladybug said with a surprised smile as she jumped from structure to structure, Adrien in her arms. The night sky was beautiful and clear, though ominous clouds threatened the horizon. But the duo paid them no mind. 

"Guess you could say I'm used to it," the model mused quietly in response, a mysterious glint in his eyes. Ladybug blinked in confusion. "Th-though, you're really strong. I just kinda, you know, feel safe around you," he nervously added.

For the second time that night, Ladybug's cheeks darkened from the boy's words. 

"Y-you're blushing!" Adrien burst out with astonishment, green eyes wide. 

Unfocused, Ladybug tripped over her own two feet and the pair came to a rolling stop on the roof of a building. 

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. A-are you okay?!" the hero asked worriedly, crawling over to the blonde— _her crush—_ that she had just _DROPPED_. 

Adrien sat up, but he wasn't in pain. 

He was laughing. 

Ladybug glared at him. 

"What on earth is so funny?" she demanded. Adrien wiped a humored tear from his eye and grinned a Cheshire's smile at her. 

"Sorry my La—er, Ladybug. It's just, your reaction was unexpected and...cute....and a bit clumsy," he admitted with a tease as he burst into another fit of laughter. The girl's face reddened ever the more and it became coated with embarrassment.

"Sorry for appreciating the compliment," she retorted, crossing her arms in a pout. Snickering, Adrien leaned toward her face. 

"By turning red and falling? That's not called _liking_ the compliment, Lady Luck. That's called loving it." 

His voice dropped a suggestive octave, yet maintained its innocent lilt. 

"If I tell you how gorgeous I think you are, do I get to see the show again?"

The flirtatious smirk on the model's lips coupled with his words would've been enough to stop any girl's heart.

But this wasn't any girl.

This wasn't just some fan. Not Chloe Bourgeois nor Lila Rossi.

This was Ladybug.

The girl who held his heart.

And Adrien would do well to remember that.

Because when the Marinette beneath the spotted masked halted her inward squealing and dying... 

"Perhaps you're right..." she drawled.

Her tone was deceptively playful.

Flirtatious and enticing. 

 _Hot_.

"...Though I'm not quite sure...."

Adrien's body quietly burned.

_'Is that so, my Lady? Do you need to hear it—‘_

Thoughts were cut short as delicate pink lips brushed the model's ear.

 

"...You're pretty hot yourself, _Agreste_ ~"

 

In a flash, Ladybug drew back and stood up, giggling demonically as Adrien's face _scorched_. 

"Don't dish it if you can't take it," she teased as her giggling became full on laughter. 

Adrien stared at her, dumbstruck, before a lopsided grin split his face. 

"Lady Luck, I think I could take you perfectly."

"What?"

"What?"

Thunder clapped. 

Rain started. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_...Ring...Ring...Ring..._

Gabriel Agreste answered it.

"Yes, it's all in motion. And it's all running smoothly, just as we hoped. You've kept your end of the bargain, now let me keep mine."

Gabriel looked out his window over the dark island as the line informed of its disconnection. 

The island was beautiful. 

Gabriel saw nothing but a monster. 

 

[READ:] _For anyone that noticed the major (convenient) plot hole (Adrien randomly showing up outside) and is bothered by it, Adrien was outside because he himself had plans to look for the temple, but he thought it would be smart to leave the hotel as a civilian and then transform somewhere else. He called out to Ladybug when he saw her out of pure surprise, which ruined his plans for searching for the temple as Chat Noir._

_ta-da, hole filled._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love comments :) it encourages me


	8. Alone, Together

 

"EeeEk!!" Ladybug yelped as she flicked a massive spider off her left thigh and shivered. Adrien muffled laughter and grinned behind her.

"Not much of a bug person I take, hmmm Ladybug?"

Ladybug whirled around to glare playfully at him.

"Your puns are as bad as Chat Noir's, I swear." Adrien feigned hurt with a hand to his heart.

"I, for one, think the infamous Chat Noir has great taste in humor," he teased with a smirk, brushing aside gigantic leaf after gigantic leaf as the duo made their way through the jungle. They had jumped from tree to tree for a while, but a run-in with a huge spiderweb had scared Ladybug to the point of demanding they take the ground. 

"His humor is overrated," she moaned with a roll of the eyes. Adrien just grinned again and shook his head. 

He watched his Lady lovingly as she forged a path for them. The rainforest was hot and miserable, but he was there _alone_ with _Ladybug_ , and—

Suddenly, a somewhat devious idea came to Adrien’s mind, but his body tensed nervously at the thought of it. 

_'Should I even ask that? What if the answer is...bad?'_

But the Agreste couldn't help himself. 

"Lady Luck." 

The masked girl froze and turned to face him, raising a questioning brow. Adrien’s smile turned tremulous. 

"Uh—um, w-what do you really think of Chat Noir?” He paused, trying to calm his embarrassment and keep his face from going beet red. “Are you and him...you know...a thing?" 

Mischief mixed with nervousness danced through the boy’s expression as he said it and Ladybug's eyes widened. She quickly went back to forging a path.

Her cheeks were heating again.

And there was no way she’d let Adrien tease her about it for a second time. 

"N-no, we aren't a 'thing'. Honestly, we don't even know each other's identities. As of what I think of him?"

Ladybug paused her work again and looked at Adrien over her shoulder, a distant, unexplainable smile on her lips.

"I think he's pretty amazing, compassionate...maybe even kind of funny.” (That she admitted with a slight eye roll). “I honestly couldn't do any of what I do without him. He's my partner...”

“...And I wouldn't trade him for the world."

An innocent pink dusted Adrien's cheeks and he barely managed to contain a suspicious grin.

"Really? You think that much of him? That's...interesting. Ever said any of that to his face?"

"Can you imagine the ego he'd have if I did? He'd never drop it," Ladybug responded, laughing genuinely. Her smile was contagious and dazzling and Adrien couldn't help but laugh with her.

"Yep, I can only guess you're right." The blonde put a thoughtful finger to his chin and then smirked at Ladybug. "But you speak so highly of Chat Noir. Sure you aren't crushing on that slick black cat? Even just a little?"

Ladybug choked on air.

"V-very, very sure!" She exclaimed spinning to face him again. Her eyes widened (for the gazillionth time that night) when she noticed his stunned expression.

"Oh. Well, alright."

The hurt in Adrien's eyes remained and the hero couldn't help but try to amend...it...by offering an explanation. (whatever _it_ may have been was beyond her.)

"I-I mean, he's great and super reliable, but...." Adrien watched as Ladybug fumbled and smiled weakly at her when she couldn't finish her sentence. 

“It’s ok, you don’t have to tell me. But...”

‘ _Don’t ask it, Agreste,_ ’ his subconscious warned him. 

"...if you and Chat Noir aren’t a thing...”

‘ _Don’t you dare do it._ ’ 

“...does that mean that _I_...maybe...have a chance?"

Ladybug high-key choked on air and time stood still. 

She stared at the beautiful boy before her, the boy she'd been waiting who-knows-how-long to notice her. 

And here he was. Middle of the rainforest, middle of the night. Asking her if _HE_ had a chance. 

Was this real? Was he joking? He had to be joking. 

Ladybug could feel the blood rushing to her face for the millionth time that night.

"I-I, um, never r-rule a-anyone out, neither y-you nor Chat Noir," she stuttered with an equally shaky smile. 

‘ _What. Are you. SAYING. You are LADYBUG. Be RESPONSIBLE,’_ her brain screamed. 

Ha. Ignored. 

It was Adrien's turn to choke on air.

"I-I was kinda kidding, but g-good to know."

Both teens looked away from each other, cheeks burning as they continued on their journey in awkward silence.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Rain had come and gone, and it had succeeded in nothing but making the expedition conditions even more miserable, as if that were even possible. Everything was slick, gross, and dark.

"Where is this place?!" Ladybug cried in frustration. It had been three hours of nonstop searching, and there was still no sign of a temple. Adrien yawned drowsily from behind her and stretched.

"How about we call it a night, go dry off, see if we can get some more info on where this place is, and try again tomorrow?" he suggested. Ladybug sighed. It looked like it would have to be that way. She was very thankful for the water proofness of her suit, but, looking back at Adrien, she knew he couldn't say the same for his clothing.

"Seems like that's our only option at this point," she muttered. With one sweep of her yo-yo, Ladybug was to the top of a tree. Over the tops of the dark canopy, she could see faint lights. The city was quite a ways away.

Gingerly, she hopped back down to Adrien.

"Well, city is this way," she declared, jabbing her finger in a direction and beginning to walk back into the brush. "It's pretty far so I suggest we gEt gOinG!!!!"

The spotted hero yelped as she slipped down a ledge she had failed to notice in the dark.

"Ladybug!" Adrien yelled frantically. Without thinking, he jumped off the slope, skidding expertly down behind her. If she hadn't been so shaken, Marinette would've definitely questioned where those reflexes came from, but she was too busy frantically dusting her body off, making sure there were no spiders.

"That...That scared me," she finally let out with a small laugh of relief. Adrien chuckled and offered her a hand. Gratefully, she took it and stood up. 

The two examined their surroundings. It was pitch dark. Where they had fallen, even the moonlight couldn't penetrate the thickness of the brush. 

"I wish we had a torch right about now," Adrien mused. He lifted a hand to the front of his face and, not surprisingly, couldn't see it. 

"Adrien."

Before the boy had a chance to answer, he felt Ladybug's hand on his arm. 

An uncalled for warmth shot through his body.

The feeling was nothing new. It was the same as every time he brushed or made contact with her. 

He was in love with her. He knew that. 

He had known he felt _something_ for her ever since they'd met. Maybe he hadn't known it was love then, but he knew now. In fact, he had come to the revelation seemingly years ago. 

He was a boy, but he wasn't stupid. 

And if the countless months of loving this infuriatingly incredible girl had taught him one thing, it was how to fake a calm composure when she was irresistibly close to him. 

"What is it?" he asked, his voice dropping slightly. Ladybug gripped his arm gently and silently nudged him, wanting him to face whatever she was looking at. 

So, Adrien turned.

And his eyes lit up in amazement.

Before them danced a sea of fireflies, gently flickering, illuminating the dark crevice of the forest they had fallen into. There had to be thousands, if not millions, twinkling like little stars. Below the bugs glowed purple flowers. The petals, wet from the rain, brilliantly reflected the yellow light of the creatures that hovered over them. Marinette looked on in wonder, unable to help but feel as if this natural galaxy had spread just for them, just for that moment.

"It's like something out of a fairytale," she whispered in astonishment. Ladybug carefully stepped forward until she stood in the midst of the spectacle, until the little bugs were glittering all around her and the soft flowers swayed at her feet.

Unbeknownst to her, as the masked hero watched the dancing array of lights, a lovesick Agreste watched her. 

The lightning bugs were enchanting, Adrien would give them that, but the way they flowed about— _encompassed_ —his Lady made the scene infinitely more enticing. They flickered past her sparkling blue eyes, revealing the bewildered and excited expression that Adrien loved so much yet so rarely saw from her. He knew he looked the same way, but not for the same reason.

And he couldn't help but wonder, for the millionth time since he'd met her, if she would ever look at him the way he looked at her, the way he had always looked at her. 

She had said he had a chance, hadn't she? That he could still manage to claim her heart. That neither Adrien, _nor_ Chat Noir, had been ruled out of her potential love interests.

And that hopeful thought coupled with the scene set before him was more than Adrien's poor heart could take. 

The unmasked cat approached his Lady Luck and reached out, taking her hand in his as his well-kept composure started to crack. 

Ladybug stiffened for a second and Adrien contemplated letting go, but then she relaxed. 

And then, 

she smiled. 

She had the fricking audacity to turn her gorgeous head and look up at him—while only a few centimeters away—and smile the most dazzling and tender smile Adrien Agreste had ever seen.  

And he. 

Was.

 _Screwed_. 

"It's beautiful here, isn't it?" Ladybug asked, unaware of the blonde's internal dilemma. The gentle smile still illuminated her entire face. 

Adrien was thankful for the dim lighting. His own face was an oven and his brain was fried.

"Yeah," he managed to breath softly back to her. His heart continued to beat faster.

_‘Alone. You're alone with her.’_

His subconscious would not shut up.

 _‘This is what you want, right?_ ’

 _'But she doesn't even know me,'_ Adrien argued with his primal desires. 

He wasn't supposed to know Ladybug as Adrien. Sure, she had saved him and his father countless times, but the interactions between them were still so few...

 _“I never rule anyone out, neither you nor chat noir._ ” 

Those words— _her_ words—decided to start echoed again through Adrien’s head. 

Had she really meant it?

"Adrien? Are you alright?"

The boy was snapped back to reality.

"You...look exhausted." Concern laced his Lady's tone. 

The oblivious heroine lifted a hesitant hand and rested it on the poor boy's forehead, feeling for a temperature. 

And for the umpteenth time in the past hour, Adrien's breathing hitched and he suppressed a frustrated groan. 

The object of his undying affection showed a hint of justified concern for his well-being and that was it for him? That was all it took to make his stomach flip, face catch fire, and body ache for her? 

He felt pathetic. 

"You're burning up!" the masked hero exclaimed, now completely worried. Her hand traveled to his cheek. 

_‘So gentle. How are you so gentle, and sweet, and beautiful, and why can't you just be mine?’_

"We need to get you back to the hotel before this gets worse." 

_‘My Lady, how can you not understand. How is it that you're able to stare directly at me every day of our lives and not see how much I want you?’_

"Adrien?"

_‘How much I love you.’_

"...Adrien..." Adrien gritted his teeth and shut his eyes tightly.

_‘How much I just fucking need you.’_

He couldn't take it anymore.

 _‘Damn it. Damn it all_.’

He kissed her. 

Adrien Agreste put his hands to the miraculous Ladybug's cheeks and kissed her.

He kissed her, and he kissed her with all the passion he'd bottled up that entire night—All the passion he'd bottled up their entire partnership. All the forgotten confessions, all the fantastic dreams, all of his secret adoration was poured into this one kiss in his hopes of her finally _getting it_. Of her finally _understanding_ what he felt for her. 

Her lips were lush and full, and they tasted sweeter than he could've ever imagined. She was a candy for which his appetite was insatiable. 

And then, the unthinkable happened. 

The one thing Adrien had accepted and believed would only ever happen in his prolific daydreaming and late night fantasies. 

Ladybug— _His Lady_ —dropped her hand from his cheek, wrapped her arms around his neck, and _eagerly_ kissed him back.

 _‘This isn't real. There's no way. This can't be happening_.’

The starstruck boy's body buzzed with heat and excitement and, just, _life_. He moved his loving and gentle— _always so gentle—_ hands from the heroine's cheeks and wrapped his arms around her waist and back, pulling her lithe figure to his own. 

The girl of his dreams was in his arms, against his body, kissing him _back_.

_‘What if this isn’t real?’_

If this ended up all a dream, Adrien didn't know what he'd do with himself. 

Probably cry a lot. 

But, as the two drew back for air and Ladybug let out a small, vulnerable gasp, the wind was sucked straight from Adrien's lungs.

And he knew with absolute certainty by no means was this a dream.

Adrien pulled himself away from the girl, fighting to keep control of his mind and body. He had just laid his entire heart into her hands without even a second thought as to what this would mean for him, as to what this would mean for her— _to_ her. 

Without even a moment of consideration, Adrien Agreste had kissed Ladybug. And now he had no idea what to do about it.

Both the model and the spotted hero continued to gasp for air as they stared at each other through the firefly lit darkness. Not a single sound was to be heard other than the panting between the two of them.

"W-we should...be getting back," Ladybug finally said. She turned her head to avoid the model's glossy gaze.

The darkness hid her blushing face well. 

And for that she was thankful.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

_...Ring...Ring...Ring..._

Gabriel Agreste reluctantly answered it.

"You were right. I think your assistance will be required. It’s late and—“ 

“ _Gabriel, are you sure you don’t just want to see me?_ ” 

“Just book your flight and get here. The quicker this is taken care of, the better,” Mr. Agreste growled. 

The man on the other end of the line chuckled.

_"I’ll see you soon then, brother."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m tired. So I will post more tomorrow morning! (So, in like 8 hours lol). THEY ARE WRITTEN. I just read them to make them less error filled since I SUCK so. Well, hope this hasn’t been to cringey. 
> 
> Love you ALL. 
> 
> Please comment your thoughts lmao bc I feel lonely


	9. Dreamscapes

“Do you have a place you’re staying, Ladybug?” Adrien asked as she set him down in his room. They had scaled the building up to his window, which he had left (conveniently) open, and used it to get inside. 

Ladybug smiled gratefully at the boy. 

“I actually do.” 

Adrien looked around his room, distractedly.

 _'Find an excuse. Find an excuse,'_ his body begged him. Tonight had been nothing short of a dream for the young Agreste, and he didn’t want to see it end. 

“W-well, the night’s almost over, and tomorrow we need to do some more research together anyways, and...are you sure you don’t want to just stay? There are two beds here,” he told her, trying to act nonchalant and not _too_ desperate. Ladybug bit her lower lip. 

“The invitation is tempting...but I have to detransform at some point. And I can’t really do that with you here,” she admitted (and was that regret Adrien heard?). “But I appreciate the offer.”

And she did appreciate it, way more than he knew. Marinette was internally screaming. So far that night Adrien had flirted with her, kissed her, and asked her to sleep in his room.

But she knew the fantasy for the night would have to end there. 

 _Of course she has to de-transform. Her poor Kwami has been like this for hours. Duh, Adrien. Get it together_. 

The boy sighed tiredly. 

“Alright, it’s fine.” Adrien paused. “But, are we not going to talk about...what happened out there between us?” he finished softly. 

Ladybug stared at him, cheeks blushing. 

“D-Do we have to?” She stammered. Adrien was taken aback and nearly started to laugh. Nervousness and stuttering? It was so uncharacteristic for his Lady, which made it all the more endearing. 

“I mean, I guess we don’t really _have_ to...” Adrien trailed off. “Tonight, that is! It’s...late.”

Ladybug nodded. 

“Y-yeah, it is really late.”

The duo watched each other awkwardly for a minute longer before Ladybug spoke again. 

“I should go.” 

Adrien broke from his thoughts and nodded a little too hard. 

“Y-Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow, Lady Luck?”

Ladybug smiled softly. 

“Yeah, tomorrow.”

Agreste watched as his Lady jumped from his window and disappeared into the night. 

A lovesick grin took his face. 

Adrien would've yelled out in triumph had his father and Marinette not been in the rooms next to him as the sensation of kissing, touching, _holding_ Ladybug filled his head. 

It didn’t matter she hadn’t wanted to talk about it, yet. 

This was more than Adrien had ever hoped for. Ever dared wish for. 

It was almost 4 am, but sleep eluded the boy as his body and mind remained restless, adrenaline and primitive emotions coursing through his entire being. 

He'd be exhausted in the morning.

Adrien Agreste couldn’t find it in himself to care. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

_Marinette zipped through the cold air of Paris, leaping from building to building as Ladybug. Chat Noir ran alongside her._

_“Quite a beautiful night, eh my Lady?” He said to her with a wink. Ladybug couldn’t help but smile back._

_“A fine night, indeed.”_

_The duo stopped running and scanned the area. Fireflies flickered here and there. People chattered and laughed—_

_Sirens._

_Ladybug looked to the noise frantically and her masked eyes caught sight of a herd of police cars and ambulances headed in a single direction. Hurriedly, she chased after them._

_“My Lady, wait!”_

_Chat Noir was running behind her._

_“Chat, it sounds bad, we have to go. We have to help,” she yelled worriedly over her shoulder to him. After a few minutes of chasing after them, the cop cars and ambulance below them came to a stop._

_And their final destination made Ladybug sick to her stomach._

_The Agreste mansion._

_“My Lady, stop,” Chat Noir’s voice came firmly from behind her, his tone solemn._

_Ladybug looked back at him, still shocked and scared._

_“Chat, we have to go see if we can help!”_

_What was happening? Why were all these cars here?_

_Chat Noir stepped toward her and shook his head as he gripped her by the shoulders._

_“No, we don’t.”_

_Ladybug was confused. She tore herself from her partner’s arms and looked back at the scene. To her horror, a stretcher was wheeled out of the house._

_And it carried a blonde she would’ve recognized from a mile away._

_“Adrien. It’s Adrien,” she whimpered, tears brimming her eyes as she attempted to jump down from the building. She had to go to him._

_But Chat Noir grabbed her arm and turned her toward him. Ladybug tried to wring herself away, but cat’s grip wouldn’t lessen._

_“Let me go!” She cried._

_“Ladybug.”_

_”Chat Noir, stop! Let me go to him!”_

_Chat eyed her, calmly as ever._

_“You’re dreaming.”_

_The traumatized girl stopped fighting._

_”W-What?”_

_”Marinette. Wake up.”_

“Come on, wake up!”

Marinette sat straight up in bed, her body drenched in sweat. 

“Marinette! oh, thank God,” came a relieved voice from next to her. She spun toward it. 

“Chat N—oh! Adrien!” She fumbled and trembled in relief. Adrien examined her worriedly. 

“What happened? Are you okay? I could hear you whimpering through the wall. Your door was locked so I jumped between our balconies and came through your window. You left it open,” the boy told her, his expression one of deep concern. Marinette rubbed her head in exhaustion. 

“I-I’m good. J-just a nightmare.” Tears started to sting her eyes again. The dream was like a memory implanted in her mind. A painful one. Adrien was silent for a second. She‘d had dreams of her parents for as long as he could remember, but never had she acted like this. 

And...was it just his imagination, or had she almost called him Chat Noir when he woke her up?

“Tell me about it,” he told her softly. 

“No, it’s ok. I’m good now.”

Adrien shook his head. 

“Tell me about the dream.”

Marinette’s red eyes widened in surprise at the demand in his voice.

“I, um, had a dream that you were rolled out of the house on a stretcher. Chat Noir was there. He wouldn’t let me go to you. He told me that I was dreaming,” she relented quietly (and rather vaguely). 

A sound echoed through the hotel room. 

A sound Marinette loved so much. 

Adrien was laughing. 

“What the hell is so funny,” Marinette scowled. 

Well, she usually love when he laughed. 

Adrien, unbeknownst to the girl in front of him, had gotten, so far, an hour’s worth of shotty sleep. So, you couldn’t blame him. 

But also...

Adrien smiled gently at his friend.

“I just think it’s so sweet how worried me dying made you,” he admitted, genuinely touched. His smile became mischievous. “You must’ve been super upset, I mean, I could hear you whimpering through the walls after all.”

Marinette grabbed her pillow and whacked Adrien with it, causing him to laugh harder. She couldn’t stay mad at him. It was impossible. She knew that. He knew that. 

She loved him. 

Marinette watched as the blonde model continued to smile and tease her playfully, but she hardly heard a word of what he said as images from earlier that night (as Ladybug) flashed through her mind. 

“Well, good night, Marinette, for what’s left of it anyways,” she suddenly heard Adrien say with a yawn. 

She looked up and realized he was walking out her door. 

“Adrien,” she called. The boy spun around mid stretch and looked at her, an expectant twinkle in his eyes. 

“Thank you...” she breathed softly. 

The model smiled pleasantly back at her. 

“Anytime.”

~~~

As Adrien walked back to his room, his smile faltered and he clutched his chest tightly. His heart was violently pounding against his rib cage.

This wasn’t happening. It couldn’t be.

_‘Damn it, Marinette.’_

He didn’t love her.

He loved Ladybug. His beautiful Lady that he had, for the first time (to his knowledge), kissed that very same night.

 

But Marinette,

oh sweet Marinette...reminded Adrien so much of his Lady.

And it was cruelly playing with his heart. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Why do you look like you got hit by a truck last night,” Gabriel Agreste growled to his son as they were about to step onto the elevator. Adrien gave Marinette a slight glance, then averted his eyes elsewhere. 

“Just had a nightmare or two,” he shrugged nonchalantly. A smile teased his lips. “And...a few dreams too." Marinette barely managed not to choke on her coffee as she swallowed it. 

“Dream or no dream, you look disgraceful. Go clean yourself up immediately. I’m leaving anyways. Another meeting. You’ll just have to eat breakfast alone,” Mr. Agreste admonished, all with a sigh. He stepped into the elevator as Adrien and Marinette stepped back out.

“Same as yesterday, do not leave the hotel,” he added harshly as the doors closed. After a few seconds, Adrien rolled his eyes.

”He’s such a paaaain,” he complained loudly, running his hands through his long blonde hair, causing it to become even more unruly. “He isn’t even going to be here, as usual. So why do I have to look like his perfect little angel exactly?”

Marinette giggled from next to him and Adrien glanced at her from the corner of his eye. A playful smile christened his lips. 

“Hey, Marinette.”

”Yeah?”

”Let’s go swimming.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marinette tried not to look as the model next to her as he removed his shirt, but, of course, her not looking did nothing to stop the blood from rushing to her face. Hurriedly, she took off her coverup. The sooner she was in the pool the better.

Unknown to her, the boy behind her wasn’t as successful in not watching his counterpart undress.

His emotions were still a mess. An utterly tangled mess.

Getting to know her as Chat Noir and even becoming closer to her as Adrien was playing with him. She had an undeniably beautiful personality, and her attractive physique did nothing to help the confused boy either.

Adrien loved Ladybug. He knew that.

Marinette having similar qualities to Ladybug shouldn't mean that....

The model's breath hitched at the sight of Marinette’s swimsuit. 

Ladybug’s signature colors.

Of course.

_‘Why do these things happen to me? Why?’_

His head began to hurt. Guilt filled him when he thought of Marinette and then about his Lady. He didn’t know what to do about it.

“Hello? Earth to Adrien?” A delicate hand waved back and forth in front of his face, trying to grasp his attention. Adrien blinked and looked at Marinette. Her lips were pursed.

‘ _Focus, Agreste.’_

Now wasn’t the time to worry about annoying feelings. He was there to enjoy himself.

”Adrien!!!” Marinette shrieked as the blonde swooped the girl off her feet and into his arms. The model laughed, a mischievous grin spread across his face.

“Bon voyage!” he yelled with a cheekily.

With one fluid motion, Marinette was tossed through the air and into the pool. She squealed as the cold water made contact with her warm skin, only to be silenced as her head went under. She surfaced, gasping for air and glaring daggers in the model’s direction. 

“I...am going...to get you,” she huffed in as dark a voice as she could manage. Adrien only laughed harder. 

Marinette smiled.

He was too adorable sometimes. 

_‘Screw that. He‘s too adorable all the time. His level of beautiful isn’t even fair.’_

“At least help me out,” Marinette whined, reaching out her hand. Adrien knew she was going to try pulling him in. He expected it. 

What he didn’t expect was the massive amount of strength her lithe figure held. One swift yank from her, and he was flying through the air and into the water himself. When he surfaced, Adrien turned to her, surprised. 

“W-wow. You’re strong. And like, not just stronger than you look,” he mused, wiping his wet, blonde hair out of his face. Marinette ducked under the water slightly and giggled. 

“I eat a lot of fruit,” she teased, splashing him playfully. Adrien attempted to block her attack and splashed her back.

Soon, the pair was in all out war and pool was a steadily growing hurricane. 

“Ok ok, hold on! I need a break,” Marinette  finally panted while laughing as she began to climb out of the pool.

“Nope. No mercy!” Adrien shouted with a grin. Halfway out of the water, Marinette felt strong hands and arms grip her waist and pull her backwards. With a yelp, she fell back into the pool.

“Agreste, I swear!” She yelled as her sides quaked with laughter. Adrien raised a brow and smirked. 

“What’s this? Is Marinette Dupain-Cheng...ticklish?” He asked with a sly tone. Marinette gasped. 

‘ _No, oh God no_.’ She burst into a violent fit of giggles as Adrien tickled her stomach, not letting her get away from his grasp. 

“B-b-break,” she finally managed to gasp. “I-I surrender.” Adrien, chuckling, obeyed, releasing her waist. Marinette breathed in relief and brushed her hair behind her ears, heading once again toward the pool edge. 

Completely unaware of the conflicted green eyes that lingered on her. 

_‘I love Ladybug. I always have.’_

The beauty in front of Adrien reached for the pool ladder. She gracefully dipped out of the water, black hair dripping like wet silk.

_‘So why is it that...you can affect me so easily? That all it took was getting to know you better?‘_

The lovely girl turned back to look down at Adrien.

Her face held a radiant smile. A smile that reminded Adrien, once again, of Ladybug. 

_‘Is it because you're so much like her?’_

"Adrien, are you good?"

_‘Your eyes. Your hair. Heck, even your smile._

"Your face is turning red."

_‘Your laugh...your character...’_

"Agreste, you're worrying me." Adrien's eyes couldn't help but flicker over Marinette’s toned figure.

_‘...Your body’_

"Adrien!" Adrien blinked, his mind managing to break away from his conflicting thoughts to look at his concerned friend's face.

And it hit him.

Like a ton of bricks.

Like a blow straight to his gut. 

_‘Your earrings.’_

Marinette's earrings were plain. Boring.

 _‘Low profile. Anonymous_...’

Adrien looked down at his ring. It was silver. A plain, boring silver.

‘ _But it isn't always silver, now is it, Agreste?’_ his mind taunted him. 

Adrien shook his head dumbly. 

"N-no, it isn't."

"What?"

Adrien's attention snapped violently back to the dazzling lady in front of him. 

 _His_ dazzling lady.

The boy's lips parted softly. 

 

"I think I like you, Marinette."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave a kudos and a comment and i’ll love u forever, seriously.


	10. Explicit Kisses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully ao3 doesn’t bump my rating to M for this haha

There were only a few things in life Marinette wanted. 

That list included a hamster (with Adrien), children (with Adrien), and a life (with Adrien). 

But Marinette’s biggest desire?

To hear three simple words from the love of her life’s lips. 

_I. love. you._

“I think I like you, Marinette.”

Not the exact phrasing she’d had in mind, but she wasn’t complaining. 

In fact, she wasn’t saying anything at all. 

Adrien. Adrien Agreste had just said he _liked_ her. 

“Marinette, don’t go catatonic on me, please.”

“W-What?” she finally stuttered stupidly, unable to find any other words. 

She was utterly confused. 

And happy. 

But really, really confused. 

Hadn’t Adrien Agreste just kissed slash made out with _Ladybug_ not twenty-four hours ago? And been the one to initiate it? That didn’t necessarily mean he _liked_ Ladybug, per say, but, if that was true, this felt like a bit of a player—

“I-I think that I like you,” Adrien stated again, but he had an uncertainty in his voice that was also etched across his face. Marinette watched him, slightly exasperated. 

“Why do you sound like that’s such a bad thing?” she asked.

The model grimaced. 

“Marinette, I’m...in love with someone.”

Marinette’s eyes hardened, but she looked at the conflicted boy calmly. Adrien wasn’t one to play. 

He was a gentleman. Forever and always. 

Marinette, of all people, knew that. 

But, that left only one explanation. 

One sensical conclusion to the situation. 

"...Who’s the other girl?” she asked quietly. 

Adrien watched Marinette carefully, looking— _desperately searching_ —for a certain expression. 

And he was not disappointed. 

Expectant.

No other words could describe Marinette’s face except for readily expectant.  

As if she knew the next words off Adrien’s tongue would be—

“It might sound sound crazy, but Ladybug. I love Ladybug.”

And when Marinette let out an exaggerated gasp of surprise that didn't quite reach her eyes, Adrien Agreste knew without a doubt that it _had_ to be her. 

A deafening silence lingered in the air between them for a moment before Marinette finally broke it.

“That's...rough.” Her voice was quiet yet light and trying, as if attempting to resuscitate the mutual comfort they had spent so long nurturing between them. 

But Adrien was still at a loss for words. 

She was Ladybug. Marinette was freaking Ladybug. 

This girl in front of him was Ladybug. 

This girl, who had been living in his house for the past six months, was Ladybug. 

This girl, who had sat behind him in class for the past _three years_ , was Ladybug. 

He had kissed Ladybug. 

He had kissed Marinette. 

Ladybug didn't love Chat Noir because Marinette liked—

"Is it really though?" Adrien joked quietly in response, voice shaking. 

"What?"

"Nothing."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re crazy!” Plagg yelled in shock as his master set a plate of Camembert in front of him.

Adrien glared at his Kwami, annoyed, and threw himself onto his bed. 

“Come on. You can't blame me. In fact, you should be giving me brownie points for being able to finally figure it out,” Adrien protested. Plagg sighed and shook his head as he picked up a piece of Camembert. 

“You couldn't of, you know, just asked her?”

Adrien ran his fingers through his long blonde hair in frustration. 

“Oh, because 'hey, are you ladybug?' would've gone over brilliantly without an explanation. _Especially_ if it hadn’t been her.” 

 _Bzzz...Bzzz...Bzzz_....

Adrien’s phone beeped from his dresser and he grabbed it. Nino was calling.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Dude, you won’t believe who’s headed to Hawaii,” the DJ said excitedly. 

Adrien listened to what his friend had to say, surprised. 

“Did Alya tell you that?” He asked his friend after he‘d finished. 

“Nope, found it out myself,” Nino responded. “My girl just went out of town, and, by the lack of texts I’ve been getting, I’m guessing she doesn’t have any service or wifi. I sent it to her but she never responded, so I don’t think she even knows. She’s gonna flip once she sees, though.”

After he‘d hung up, Adrien turned to look at his kwami. 

“Plagg, I think Chat Noir has some investigating to do tomorrow.” 

“Okay, but you also promised to help Ladybug _tonight_ , as Adrien.”

Adrien gave his kwami a sly smile and tossed his phone onto his bed. Plagg raised a brow at the triumphant smirk on his master's face.

"Of course, Plagg. How could I forget?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~

As night approached, Marinette prepared for another temple hunt. Neither she nor Adrien had said one word to each other since the pool incident. Time away from each other was probably a good thing for the moment, anyways. 

“Marinette, this is just going to be another wild goose chase,” Tikki told her wielder with a sigh. Marinette shook her head. 

“Maybe, but I have to keep trying. Tikki, spots on.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marinette swung down from her window, gracefully landing on the tiled floor at the foot of the hotel. The full moon flooded the area with soft, white light. 

“Hey, Ladybug.”

The girl jumped at the sudden voice, muffled a shriek, and spun around. 

“Agreste, you have got to stop doing that,” she reprimanded angrily, rolling her eyes. “You’re going to give me a heart attack.” 

Adrien smiled sweetly at her.

“Aww, don’t act like you didn’t miss me,” he teased. Ladybug sighed in exasperation, but her eyes twinkled. 

“Don’t get your hopes up,” she joked. Adrien laughed. 

“I’ll take my chances,” he said softly, nearly inaudibly. But Marinette heard, and her cheeks reddened under the mask. 

“Your teasing is no better than Chat Noir's, I swear,” she muttered for the second night in a row. “L-Let’s get going.”

But Adrien shook his head. 

“I have a better idea. A trade, if you will,” he drawled slyly, smiling a smile way too innocent for his tone. Ladybug raised a questioning brow and put her hands on her hips. 

“And what exactly would your ‘trade’ consist of?” She asked suspiciously. 

Adrien grinned, a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.

“It goes a little like this: I give you the hotel room that expedition leader _James Cochran_ will be staying in as of tomorrow evening, and you and I rest tonight in the safety and comfort of my hotel room, out of the reaches of all the scary bugs and spiders that lurk in the jungle."

Ladybug's eyes widened and cheeks turned pink. 

Adrien grinned at her reaction.

"Does that sound like a fair deal?“ 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marinette couldn’t believe what she was hearing. 

I mean, the James Cochran stuff was great and all, but Adrien Agreste inviting her to his _room_? 

Otherworldly. 

She’d learned that morning (and, more honestly, the previous night) how he truly felt about Ladybug. So it shouldn’t have come as much of a surprise. 

But—ha!—it still did.

 _'Don't act so eager,'_ she inwardly chided herself. Ladybug looked at the waiting blonde in front of her. 

“Your idea is mildly more appealing than wandering the rainforest,” she admitted precariously. 

Adrien smiled again with a coolness that almost reminded Ladybug of a certain Chat Noir. 

 _Almost_. 

But it was gone before she could make the connection, overtaken by a light seriousness. 

“I’m guessing we could also use the time to talk?” he added quietly. 

Marinette grimaced beneath the mask. 

“Yeah, sure.”

__________________________________________

 

The tv was turned on and the volume kept low. The room remained dark, save for the light of the screen.

“My father is in the room next to me, so we need to be quiet," Adrien whispered. Ladybug nodded as her eyes nervously wandered. 

"What about Marinette?" she suddenly asked. 

Adrien looked at her, a sly smile encroaching on his lips. 

"What about Marinette?" he questioned, voice innocent and head cocked playfully to the side. Ladybug turned to face him, brow raised.

"You just didn't mention her when you said we have to be quiet. I thought she was staying nearby."

_'M’lady, you try too hard.'_

"I don't think we need to worry about Marinette."

Ladybug looked at Adrien for a second longer before dropping it. 

“Nice place,” she mused, changing the topic. The boy smiled his thanks as he sat (rather nonchalantly) on his bed, half-heartedly clicking through tv channels with the remote. Ladybug hesitantly sat next to him.

She still couldn't believe she was here. 

 _He_ still couldn't believe she was here. 

Neither of them could believe they were so _irresponsible_ as to have agreed to this 'deal'. 

But the heart wants what it wants, and _damn_ be responsibility should it obstruct the heart's desires.  

“So,” Adrien started, awkward and hesitant. 

“So...” Ladybug prompted. 

“So, what was last night?” 

Ladybug groaned. 

“Come on, please?” Adrien begged her. “I know this is awkward, but I think it’ll just get worse if we don’t clarify what that was.”

‘ _For my sake, LB, please.’_

Ladybug opened her mouth to speak when Adrien's phone pinged from beside him, indicating a text from Nino. 

Adrien opened it begrudgingly and, upon reading the text, let out a small gasp. 

“What is it?” Ladybug asked curiously, and, before the boy could move to close it, Ladybug had looked over his shoulder. 

 **“Paris’ Heroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir, Absent?** _”_ The headline of an article read. 

Ladybug raised a brow. 

‘ _Chat Noir is missing? Odd_.’

She didn’t notice the model fidgeting nervously next to her. 

“Well, you're here," Adrien chuckled lightly. "If Chat Noir isn't, perhaps he’s taking a break? Everyone deserves one once in a while, and there's no report of there being any akuma attacks since we—er—you've been gone.” 

Ladybug didn’t look convinced, only worried. 

She got up from the bed and walked to the open window, sighing as her anxious eyes wandered the dimly lit city. 

“I hope he’s ok.”

Adrien couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt along with the warmth those words brought him. It wasn’t _really_ his fault. _He_ couldn’t do anything about it (right?). But it still hurt to see her so worried about him while he was right there, perfectly fine. 

“I’m sure he’s alright. I mean, he’s Chat Noir,” Adrien reassured the heroine with a light chuckle. He got up and followed her to the window. Ladybug released a breath again and bit her lip. 

Adrien watched as she became lost in her own world of thought, moonlight from the window bouncing off her distant crystal eyes along with her peach tinted cheeks. The boy couldn't help but be reminded.

She was divine. 

And divine was but one adjective on his list for her.

 _Sublime. Graceful. Alluring. Ravishing. Exquisite_. 

 _Miraculous_.

But, to be honest, the expression she was currently wearing...

_‘So needlessly worried and upset.’_

“Stop.”

The miraculous Ladybug looked to Adrien Agreste, taken aback.

“Stop?” she asked, brows knitting in confusion. "Stop what?" 

Adrien's gaze was dark. Frustrated.

“Stop worrying so much about Chat Noir." 

It came nearly as a demand. A gentle demand.

But a demand no less.

Was that... _envy?_

Ladybug looked at the model with a surprise quickly overtaken by exactly what Adrien craved from her (nearly) the most.

Raw desire.

 _Need_.

“What’s this? Is Adrien Agreste _jealous_?” she teased wickedly, poking his cheek. Ladybug sat on the window sill, smiling slyly up at the blonde. Adrien looked to the room's ceiling in pretend thoughtfulness. 

“I don’t know about jealous...Just, why worry about something innocuous thousands of miles away?” he mused, the devious grin returning to his face.

With a lustful grace, the unmasked cat stepped to his Lady.

"I don't know about you, Lady Luck, but..."

Adrien laid his hands on either side of the masked heroine and leaned in.

"...I'd rather live in the moment.”

Noses brushed. 

"Right here."

Breaths hitched.

"Right now."

Adrien shivered as a dangerous sparkle danced through his Lady's eyes. She was beautiful like this. 

And he was absolutely gone. 

_'I love you, so much, M’lady.'_

“You really are miraculous, Ladybug,” he sighed. And, in a voice that made Adrien’s head spin, stomach flip, and blood boil—

 

"You're not so bad yourself, _Agreste_."

 

Lips met with a gentle shyness, but heavy desire began its course to the surface. Tongues ventured to join the game this time, eager to play with one another and explore. 

Adrien swallowed a pleasured sigh. 

Every day spent pining. Every night spent fantasizing. Every minute spent hoping there would come a day when all his love (or even just a portion of it) would be sent back to him. 

Every ounce of that affection, Adrien gave to Ladybug in that moment.

His body burned from her touch and his lips seared from her tongue. 

She was a radiant flame. A shining star. And he was her moth. Her Icarus. 

Adrien (a hopeless romantic at heart) couldn’t help but dain their story complete. Their saying whole.

 _Them_ whole. 

Adrien tightly gripped his Lady's waist, holding her hips to his as they pulled back and gasped for air.

“A-Adrien." Ladybug’s face was flushed red and her heart beat violently as she leaned against his forehead. “C-can we...do that again?” 

Lust mixed with Adrien’s admiration for her and he gritted his teeth. 

_'As many times as you want, princess.'_

“Yes, please,” he rasped out (more as a beg than intended). Adrien reconnected their lips and, in one swift movement, picked his lady up the sill, walking them to his bed. Gently— _always so gently—_ Adrien sat on the bed's edge, Ladybug perched precariously on his lap. 

Their bodies and breath danced in beautiful tandem with one another, both ignoring the implications of the change in location. 

And before long, Adrien wanted more. To _feel_ more. 

His eyes wandered down the tight suit his Lady wore, his hands moved from her hips to her back, and his mouth kissed down her jawline to suck at her neck. Ladybug bit back a whimper as she ran her fingers through Adrien’s vibrant blonde hair and down every muscle of his figure. 

But the blonde's wandering mouth was hard to ignore. 

A small, sinful gasp escaped Lady Luck. 

Adrien stopped sucking momentarily and breathed hard into her skin. 

“Damn, Ladybug, can you...do that again?” he pleaded, voice husky and dripping with inclination. Ladybug's eyes closed and she pulled his lips back to her neck.

"If you keep doing tha~" She didn't need to ask once, much less twice. Adrien's mouth again traveled the expanse of her exposed neck, licking, biting, and sucking as if she were the most delicate of desserts. As if he wished to enjoy her slowly, and fully. Ladybug leaned into him, allowing pleasureful sighs to again quietly slip from her lips. Her sounds sent Agreste's blood rushing in sinful sweeps. 

And Adrien’s sweatpants did little to hide a growing predicament. 

Lady Luck, hovering a mere half inch above it, did nothing to help either. 

Agreste stopped his mouth's exploration as his breath caught and teeth clenched, the ever-growing problem becoming harder to ignore, begging to be free from the taut material. And Ladybug, _oh sweet, sweet_ Ladybug, did not understand Adrien's reason for stopping. So, out of concern for the boy beneath her, she pushed her torso away from him and untangled her hands from his hair.

And sat back.

Flush against Adrien Agreste's now fully-formed erection. 

Nothing could've prepared the model for the pure ecstasy that was shot through his abdomen in that moment. Nothing at all.

Adrien cried out in pleasure and surprise as his hips gave a violent jerk into Ladybug, desperate for a friction that could only be described as lewd. Years of pent up frustration cried out to Adrien in hopes of finally being fed, finally being released. 

Ladybug gasped when Adrien rocked against her core, nearly falling off the model's lap. Heat primally radiated between her legs from the contact. But, once her balance was regained, the girl wisely abstained from “reiterating” herself on Adrien's (rather prominent) bulge, climbing off of him.

They had already sprinted across more lines and past more bases than what Marinette deemed morally acceptable. And that was in the past twenty-four hours alone. 

No need to go running for home plate just yet.

Agreste's body mourned the loss of her heat, aching and urging him to pull her back. To set her back where she'd been. But Adrien ignored his own primitive complaints and buried his head in his hands, face uncontrollably red.

"I don't even know what to say," he groaned. "This is so embarrassing." 

Put shortly, Adrien wanted to die.

And Ladybug's laughter just felt like the final nail in his coffin. 

" _Why_ are you laughing," he moaned, voice muffled by his hands. He didn't dare look up.

_'At least she's not mad. Right?'_

"Because you are absolutely adorable!" Ladybug giggled, crawling up to hug him from behind. She draped herself over his back, arms over his shoulders.

‘ _Adorable? Nevermind. I take it back. Be mad. Anything but adorable.’_

Adorable was the last word Adrien Agreste was looking to be described as being, especially in the aforementioned situation.

"Just, so cute,” Ladybug continued teasingly. “Like—"

Adrien cupped a hand to his lady's mouth and leaned his head back against her, eyes shut blissfully. Ladybug protested incomprehensibly in his grasp. 

"You know what, Lady Luck? Unless the next words out your mouth are 'damn Agreste, you've got quite the package' or 'you're so manly, Adrien, please take me now', I absolutely _do not_ want to hear it,"  the recovering model mournfully groaned as he dropped his hand from the unamused hero’s mouth. Ladybug rolled her eyes, then laughed gently. Her laughter sent comforting vibrations through Adrien's body and he sighed into her hold. 

 _‘This_.’

 _This_ was what he had always wanted. What he'd waited for. What he'd longed for endlessly since the beginning. 

Content would be an understatement should Adrien have be condemned to stay in that room— _with her—_ for eternity.

The atmosphere went silent save for the soft humming of the long forgotten tv, its light dancing through the room with a rational vigorousness.

“Are we gonna talk about—“

“Agreste, I swear to God. Not right now.”

Adrien sighed and they both went silent again. 

“I should be going,” Ladybug finally spoke softly. She released herself from Adrien (who inwardly huffed and whined at the loss of her touch once again) and stood up, walking to the window. Adrien forced the complaints aside and joined her.

“Be safe,” he whispered, eyes tiredly blinking and expression that of a forlorn kitten. “We’re talking about all this at some point,” he added. “You aren’t getting out of it.”

The unmasked cat took his Lady’s hands in his own and leaned against her forehead, submissively.

“Of course,” Ladybug breathed back, a delicate smile crossing her lips. Adrien smiled back at her. 

He looked—just— _happy_. 

Completely and inconceivably _happy_. 

And it melted Marinette’s heart. 

_‘One last kiss wouldn’t kill.’_

The miraculous Ladybug pressed her lips to Adrien Agreste's for the last time (of the night, of course). Then, with the grace of a practiced acrobat, she jumped from his window and disappeared into the night's darkness.

Adrien stared lovingly after her for a while longer before shutting the window.

As the content model laid in bed, the night's events elapsed through his head, heatedly romantic scenes set on repeat.

 _Heated_...

 

That reminded him. 

 

_____________________

 

 _...Ring...Ring...Ring_...

 

Gabriel Agreste answered it. 

 

“What?” he growled. 

 

“ _Tsk, tsk_ ,” the man on the other end tauntingly reprimanded. “ _Is that anyway to answer the phone?_ ” Gabriel stiffened angrily. 

 

“I answer as I see fit.” 

 

“ _Gabriel, Gabriel. I think right now your tone should be a little more grateful,_ ” the voice clicked back, clearly enjoying how annoyed the Agreste was becoming. _“Anyhow, I didn’t call just to pester you. I thought I’d let you know I had a safe flight."_

 

The man's voice dropped the teasing. 

 

_"I’m here.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally released this like 24 hours ago and it’s already gotten so much love. Thank you guys so so much!


	11. Tease and a Twist

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What’d y’all think of weredad? That episode was funny but super awkward. Like, fanfics = marichat expectation, and Weredad = marichat reality.

_Marinette zipped through the cold air of Paris, leaping from building to building. Chat Noir ran alongside her._

_“Quite a beautiful night, eh, my Ladybug?” he teased with a wink. Ladybug didn’t smile back at him._

_It was the dream again. She was dreaming._

_She had to wake up. But how?_

_The duo stopped running and scanned the area. It was quiet. Fireflies flickered here and there, people chattered and laughed._

_The sirens, similar to the night before, began to go off._

_Ladybug calmly turned and began to run, across balconies and over buildings. She knew where the sirens were going._

_“My Lady, wait!”_

_Chat Noir was running behind her, calling her name, just as he had the time previous._

_Ladybug didn’t acknowledge him._

_Finally, the cop cars and ambulance below them came to their stop at the Agreste mansion._

_“My Lady, wait,” Chat Noir’s voice came firmly from behind her, his tone solemn._

_Ladybug stopped, watching as the same stretcher from the night before was rolled out, the same beautiful blonde boy on it, his body limp._

_'It’s a dream. It’s just a dream,' she reminded herself. Unnecessary tears fought to spill, but she wouldn't let them._

_Taking a deep, stuttering breath, Ladybug turned to Chat Noir. He gazed at her with a gentle and knowing expression._

_The expression exasperated her._

_“Why?” she asked. Chat raised a brow._

_“Why what?”_

_“Why stop me? Why do you, alone, want to stop me from going to Adrien?" Ladybug paused. "Is it jealousy?”_

_Chat Noir smiled and shook his head in sad amusement._

_“You know why I stop you.”_

_Ladybug stayed silent, staring at him in utmost confusion. His gaze became gentle._

_“Just watch,” he said softly._

_Without another word, Chat Noir dropped his transformation._

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

_Chat Noir no longer stood in front of Ladybug._

_An everyday boy did._

_A beautiful stranger._

_Ladybug silently studied his face. At least, what was supposed to be his face._

_He was incredibly...blurry, like binoculars out of focus. The girl wasn’t surprised she couldn’t see him._

_After all, she didn’t know who he was._

_Annoyed by her partner's confusing scheme, Ladybug turned back to the scene at the Agreste mansion._

_She squinted._

_'Odd.'_

_Everything below them had frozen in place._

_Cars sat still and people stood like statues._

_It was as if nothing had moved since Ladybug had last looked at it. As if nothing had changed._

_In fact, the only thing different was...the stretcher. The one that had been holding Adrien._

_It was empty._

_Marinette stared at it, bewildered. Why was it empty?_

_“Ladybug.”_

_Marinette whirled around. The blurry figure of the detransformed Chat Noir had a hand outreached to her._

_She eyed it hesitantly._

_“Lady Luck, I think it’s time for you to wake up.”_

_His voice was but a loving breath in volume._

_Ladybug glanced one last time over her shoulder at the empty stretcher, and took her partner’s hand._

_In that moment, Chat’s face became a little less blurry._

_But only a little._

_Only enough for her to see a smiling pair of gorgeous green eyes._

“Marinette!” 

Marinette bolted upright in her bed, slightly sweaty. Adrien was next to her, gripping her arm with worry. 

“You have got to stop having these freaky dreams,” he said, beginning to laugh in exasperation. “You’re scaring me to death.”

Marinette drowsily stared at him. 

“What’d I do this time?” 

“You kept yelling ‘who are you’ and ‘I can’t see you’. Who on earth were you talking to?” he asked. Marinette rubbed her eyes and sighed. 

“I didn't even talk to the person in the dream,” she mumbled (more to herself than Adrien) as she yawned and glanced to the clock on her dresser.

6 am. 

”Ok, so who were you _theoretically_ yelling at?” Adrien pushed. Marinette didn’t want to have to try and explain (or more specifically, _lie_ ), but this beautiful boy—who she’d made out with multiple times now (which is totally beside the point)—had taken the time to come wake her up and make sure she was okay.

It was the least she could do for him.

And she knew that. 

“Chat Noir. He detransformed right in front of me to try to prove something I think, but I couldn’t see him. He was all blurry. Like...when a camera goes out of focus.” Marinette paused. “You were there again, too. The same as last time." 

She looked up at Adrien, a befuddled curve on her lips.

"When Chat Noir detransformed, you disappeared.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Plagg, did you hear what she said? About ‘Adrien' disappearing from her dream when ‘Chat Noir’ detransformed?" Adrien excitedly mused to his Kwami as he laid back in bed. Plagg shrugged. 

“They’re just dreams, Adrien. Even if she envisioned you specifically as Chat Noir, I highly doubt she’d apply that to real life.” Adrien nodded in hesitant agreement. The kwami was right. It probably didn't mean much.

But a part of him hoped it did. A part of him hoped his Lady would finally figure him out, just as he had her, purely through reason and...desire. 

“Adrien, are you ready for breakfast?” Marinette called from the hallway. The boy sighed, pushing his fantasied thoughts away. 

“Yep, coming.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Don’t leave the hotel,” Gabriel Agreste told the two teens for the third day in a row after they had all finished breakfast. Marinette and Adrien both inwardly groaned.

The hotel was nothing short of positively boring. 

“Honestly, you'd think he’d come up with at least something for us to do if he’s gonna drag us all the way to Hawaii,” Adrien muttered, flipping through tv channels from the comfort of his bed. Marinette resided on the spare bed next to his, back leaned into a group fluffy pillows.

Her eyes wandered to the blonde model.

Only to find he was looking back at her.

Both turned away in a sort of timid awkwardness. 

“H-hey, why do we stay?” Marinette said suddenly, trying to break the tension. 

“What?” Adrien asked, confused.

“Why don’t we, I don’t know, go explore or something? Let’s leave the hotel,” she proposed with a shrug and mischievous smile. “Who’s here to tell us no?” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marinette and Adrien descended from their hotel floor via elevator. 

An agonizingly decorous space sat between them like an uncomfortable third party.

 _Ding_...

The door opened to the lobby.

“So, what do you want to do?” Adrien asked his (completely platonic) female counterpart (who had totally not moaned his name last night while he sucked at her neck). The duo made their way toward the front doors as Marinette put a thoughtful finger to her chin. 

“Dunno. Never really got that far," she admitted. 

Adrien laughed and teasingly poked the girl's forehead, which instantly caused Marinette's face to blush (of course).

Her adorable reaction coupled with a role of her bluebell eyes made Adrien's heart skip a beat.

_'Why are we down here, again? Why aren't we back in my room kissing right now with you on my lap, again?'_

Adrien bit his lip as his palms began to sweat.

Despite his complaints, Adrien Agreste knew fully well why he hadn't yet shared his identity with his beloved bug.

Marinette loved Adrien. So, Ladybug loved Adrien. And Adrien was Chat Noir. So, by default, Ladybug loved Chat Noir.

And Adrien knew that. 

Well, he knew he was supposed to know that.

But, after confessing and being shot down (multiple times) _as_ Chat Noir, Adrien couldn't help but worry his Lady would lose interest should she discover him to be her cheesy superhero counterpart.

So he kept painfully quiet. 

“Adrien Agreste! Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng!” Adrien’s frustrated thoughts were cut short by a cheery masculine voice shouting from behind them. 

None other than James Cochran was strolling toward them eagerly. 

“I was told by your friend Nino you two would be in the same hotel as me, but I didn’t expect to bump into you so soon,” the man greeted happily. Adrien smiled a gentleman’s smile back at him. 

“Nino told me you’d be here at some point, I just didn’t think it would be until this evening,” Adrien admitted. Mr. Cochran nodded. 

“I was able to score an earlier flight. Turned out well. Here a day early and I got to run into you two,” the man said chuckling a little too ecstatically. 

“Why exactly are you here, Mr. Cochran?” Marinette ventured to ask. 

The man sighed with a hint of anger. 

“I’m afraid it’s because of the past expedition that I’m here again, but not for fun this time. I’m in trouble with the government for apparent _vandalization_ of historic property, which I _absolutely_ did not do, and would never do.” Both teens’ eyes widened. 

“Vandalization to the temple? What did they say you did?” Adrien inquired incredulously. Mr. Cochran shook his head in dismay. 

“Believe it or not, which I do NOT, they said the temple is gone. And they’re blaming it all on me! Can you believe that?!” 

“What?”

“You heard me right. The temple’s just up and disappeared!”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“That whole thing sounds crazy,” Marinette mused to Adrien after they had said their goodbyes to the explorer and left the hotel. “What do you think happened to it?” Adrien shook his head. 

“No clue. How does an entire building just disappear?”

 _‘No wonder Ladybug—or, I guess, Marinette—and I never found it that one night. It wasn’t there to be found_.’

Adrien glanced at Marinette, who was fishing for something in her purse, and his expression softened, body immediately relaxing. 

_‘How is it possible to like someone this much? For one look at her to completely affect my mood?’_

It almost made him angry how much he loved her.

“Adrien, how about we just walk around town and look for some inspiration for my designs?” Marinette suddenly suggested. Adrien blinked and nodded dumbly, having barely caught what she just said. 

“Sounds good.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a couple hours of walking and sketching, Marinette yawned. The duo had found themselves in a small park on a bench. 

“Tired already? We’ve only been out for, oh, forever?” Adrien teased the exhausted girl, jostling her shoulder lightly. Marinette laughed. 

“I’m beat,” she whined, closing her eyes. The afternoon sun blazed down and cricket-like creatures chirped constantly. 

Adrien laid a cautious arm behind the girl on the bench and leaned back.

“Same. Want to go back to the hotel and rest?” he asked. 

Marinette didn’t respond.

Suddenly, Adrien felt soft locks brush against his cheek.

 And slow breathing hummed through the air like a melody as a delicate head came to rest on his shoulder. 

 _‘Gosh dammit, Mari_.’

Had she fallen asleep? Adrien didn't know, nor did he venture to ask, fearing any movement or action on his part would end this God-given moment.

After he was fairly certain she was indeed asleep, Adrien began to gently play with the girl's hair, childishly twirling it among his fingers. It was soft.

_'Though, you already knew that, from last night, Agreste, remember?'_

“You’re too much for me sometimes,” Adrien murmured.

“More than you even know,” Marinette sighed back to him softly. The boy's face blushed. 

“S-sorry, I didn’t know you were still awake,” he stuttered, releasing her hair. The girl laughed quietly. 

“Oh, I'm not awake. I’m asleep. You can keep talking,” she teased in a whisper. Adrien laughed and, without a moment of hesitation, kissed the top of her head lightly. 

_'I love you, Marinette.'_

"You're amazing, Marinette."

Marinette’s breath caught and she sat up to look at him. 

“You say that and you say you like me, yet you don’t ask me out, or do anything that proves you really do like me,” she drawled in an exasperated manner, rolling her eyes and standing up. Adrien rolled his own eyes good-naturedly (for reasons still unknown to the pouting girl) and then began to laugh.

"Why are you laughing, Agreste, this is serious!"

But Marinette's voice hardly held an ounce of seriousness itself, which only made Adrien laugh harder.

Acting, the model had come to learn, was not Lady Luck’s forte. 

The unmasked cat reached out for his lady’s hands, which she begrudgingly let him grab, and (to Marinette's complete surprise) pulled her into his lap. Strong arms wrapped themselves around Marinette's figure and a heavy sigh was released from her captor.

 _'You're such a tease, LB.'_  

“You’re so melodramatic,” Adrien groaned as he nuzzled Marinette's neck like a touch-deprived house cat. Marinette blushed a fierce red, confused by his actions (yet not unwelcoming of them).  

“You’re the one that’s made me this way, saying you like me but that another girl has your heart as well,” she sighed a little too dramatically. She crossed her arms, refusing to allow herself to coddle him. Adrien looked at her mischievously. 

“Yeah, I told you I liked Ladybug. But you haven’t seemed too jealous of that, now have you.”

His voice wasn't teasing. Not at all.

But it wasn’t mad. 

One might've even called it soft.

Marinette uncrossed her pouting limbs and laid her hands to rest on the arms that embraced her. 

“And why do you say that?” she asked quietly, calmly stroking the boy. Adrien buried his face deeper in her neck, his blonde hair licking out to tickle her cheeks. 

“I don’t know. You just hardly seem to give me any attention. You’re so...casual,” he murmured. Marinette laughed. 

“Casual? Adrien Agreste, what even makes you think I like you back? I don’t recall ever saying ‘I love you, too’,” she retorted.

Time slowed for a moment.

The retort was meant to be a joke. And it was...until Marinette realized the truth that existed in it. Until Adrien remembered that the boy Marinette had confessed about liking him to was indeed not Adrien, but Chat Noir.

Adrien’s breath shortened nervously.

“Um, well, _do_ you like me?”

“Agreste, how about you figure out your own feelings before bringing mine into the equation.”

The model glared at her. 

_'So. You're going to look right at me (knowing FULL WELL you and Ladybug are ONE IN THE SAME) and tell me I need to get MY feelings in order? You really are cruel, Princess.'_

Marinette muffled her laughter at the boy's dejected expression by burying her face in his silky blonde hair. 

How she wished to just tell him.

 _‘I’m Ladybug, silly. I’m Ladybug_.’ 

The words danced on the tip of her tongue, but she wouldn’t let them go. Some dark part of her wanted to see him torn between the halves of her. (And also, the secret identity rule, of course).

Adrien sighed one last time before releasing the girl, allowing her to stand. Marinette spun around to face him and took his hands in her own. 

“Let’s go back to the hotel,” she said with a friendly smile, lightly tugging at him. Adrien tilted his head to the side and looked up at her hesitantly. 

“But, I like sitting here with you," he moaned in a way that could only be described as pitiful. Marinette broke into a fit of giggles. 

“Could you act like any more of a baby right now?” she chided. She pulled his hands again, this time harder. “Let’s _go_. Before your father gets back and wonders where we are.”

That got Adrien on his feet in a hot second. 

“Dear lord, you’re right.” 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Night fell and Adrien peered out his window into the darkness. The moon was new, rendering the night pitch black. 

A perfect night for Chat Noir.

Adrien was sick of being cooped up.

“Plagg. Claws out.” 

Gracefully, the heroine leaped from the window and landed at the foot of the hotel, having slowed his descent with his staff. 

“Chat Noir?”

Chat jumped and whipped his head around. 

‘Great. _I knew I should've left as a civilian_.’ 

Chat turned to find (disappointingly) not Ladybug, but James Cochran, leaning against the hotel wall and smoking a pipe.

It seemed Adrien just couldn’t avoid this man. 

“Uh, hello?” Chat answered awkwardly. “You are?” 

“Cochran, James Cochran,” the man stated eagerly, outstretching his hand. The black clad hero shook it and put a thoughtful finger to his chin. 

“Name rings a bell..." Chat snapped his fingers. “You’re that guy that wrote that article! About the temple and stuff.”

Chat prayed to the heavens he was a better actor than Ladybug. 

Cochran nodded.

“That I am,” he declared proudly, puffing up his chest and grinning. “And that temple, I’m guessing, is why you're in Hawaii, also? Eh, Chat Noir?” 

Chat nodded. 

“About that. I know the temple is missing, but can I ask you a few questions? Well, more like one question.”

Cochran smiled. 

“I don’t see why not."

“I need you to tell me exactly how you got to the temple. And I mean _exactly how._ “

Cochran looked at Chat Noir, his eyes hesitant. 

“I have a map I made, but I’ve been careful about who I’ve given it to." The man sighed. "However, seeing you’ve come all the way from Paris, I feel somewhat inclined to share it with you. And, lucky for you, I have a copy right here.” The man fished in the satchel he was carrying for a second. He pulled out a thin folder and handed it to the hero. 

“No need to return it. Keep it, and good luck,” Cochran wished him sincerely. His cheeriness fell. “I hope you have better luck finding it than the government did.” The words were spat somewhat spitefully.

Chat Noir chuckled darkly. 

“Luck isn’t really my thing, but I’ll do my best.” 

He bid the explorer farewell and raced off across the city. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

James Cochran puffed a ring of smoke into the air as his eyes wandered the dark, warily.

 

“That habit will most certainly kill you one day,” an approaching voice stated with a hateful bluntness. “And when it does, no one will care.”

 

Cochran chuckled and turned to look at the impertinent man.

 

“You aren’t wrong, Agreste,” he responded with a sad shake of his head. “You aren’t wrong at all.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I love comments. It motivates me to update faster and let’s me know you are really enjoying what I’m writing. Don’t be afraid to tell me what you don’t like too! 
> 
> Even if your comment isn’t related to my fic or any fic lol, I just like to talk to ppl


	12. Ladies, Cats, and Birds

Adrien Agreste was an animal. 

An animal born into captivity and habituated as a pet. 

But Agreste, while mild mannered to most, had not been forbidden all characteristics of “wild”. 

Those he acquired from his mother. 

His mother was a bird. A beautiful bird. 

Born free and made freer with a gift.

A gift, of sorts, that Adrien himself came to possess, in a sense. 

(Be it in mind or matter is yours to conclude.)

Sadly, neither he nor the bird knew of their likelihood to each other, despite their relation. 

Not that it was surprising. 

The bird had been gone for a while. 

 

Locked in a cage, 

of sorts. 

 

One in which Adrien, too, was trapped, 

in a sense. 

 

____________________

 

Chat Noir looked out over the forest from the last building that stood between nature and civilization.

“Thank heaven for night vision,” he murmured as he examined the map he'd received.

“And why, pray tell, my dear _chaton_ , are you here needing that?” a familiar voice asked with suave suspicion. 

A grin lit up the dark hero’s face. 

“I’m guessing same as you, my dear Lady,” he stated, turning with a bow in the spotted heroine's direction. He looked up with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “To find a temple.” 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

"I still can't believe you're here," Ladybug mused for the millionth time that night as the duo trekked through the dark. Chat rolled his eyes. 

"I could say the same about you, you know."

Ladybug raised a brow. 

“Someone’s being awfully short tonight,” she muttered. Chat’s sharp ears caught the retort and he chuckled. 

“Not short, m’lady. Just cautious,” he quipped with a wink. 

“Cautious? Why?”

“Why, indeed,” Chat Noir mused quietly, almost to himself.

Ladybug went silent and Chat glanced at her. She was thinking, and he didn’t dare question what about. 

“Where’d you get it?” Ladybug suddenly asked, nodding toward the paper in Chat’s hands. 

“Ran into that explorer guy, Cochran. He was generous enough to give me this." 

“You just happened to run into him? How do you know him?”

“His name was on the article, was it not?”

“But his face wasn’t. How’d you recognize him? And why are you just sporadically here all of a sudden?”

Chat Noir stared at Ladybug solemnly for a second before a mysterious smirk quirked his lips.

That face. 

It was the one he made every time he had something to hold over her. When he knew something she didn’t. 

And Ladybug hated it with a passion. 

“M’lady sure has a lot of questions tonight. Ones of a nature she doesn’t normally toy with.” Chat Noir leaned in toward Ladybug, eyes glowing and handsome features taut with a devious grin. “What’s wrong, bugaboo? Something tugging at that pretty head of yours?”

The duo stared at each other for a long moment before Ladybug scoffed and averted her eyes, cheeks tinted red. What was with him tonight? 

”You don’t even act surprised I’m here,” she stated, as if the fact wounded her pride. Chat gave a sly laugh and stepped back from Ladybug, turning toward the forest. 

“Curiosity killed the cat, m’lady.”

Ladybug glared at him. 

“But we both know satisfaction brought it back. So, what’s got you so satisfied, Chat Noir?”

The cat grinned over his shoulder. 

“Nothing yet, m’lady.”

Ladybug went silent and Chat Noir turned, once again, toward the task at hand as the duo resumed their search. 

Bugs shrilled and animals clicked invisibly around them. 

The spider from a couple nights previous flashed across Ladybug’s mind and she shuddered it away. They were going to be outside for a while.

It probably wasn't a great idea to go getting spooked just yet. 

 

_____________________

 

“Chat, I think I’ve been to this place before,” Ladybug said suddenly. The duo had been incessantly walking for what felt like an eternity. “I think I was here a couple nights ago! And I think I went—" 

For someone who was supposed to be the embodiment of luck...

"Not again!”

...Ladybug, Chat Noir had come to realize, fell pretty damn short of that description a strong portion of the time.

Ladybug yelped as she stepped forward and off the same ledge she had a few nights before. And, muffling laughter, Chat Noir slid down skillfully behind her (again).

He honestly didn’t take Ladybug slash Marinette as careless, but, he had to admit, she could definitely be a touch ditzy.

And, as made previously known, he found it a _spot_ (ha) endearing.  

The fallen girl mumbled a string of inaudible expletives before standing up and dusting herself off. Chat skidded to beside her, his annoying grin (fortunately for him) hidden by the dark. 

"M’lady, I think it’s safe to say your grace is equivalent to that of the most ravishing of mermaids....on land," he teased, poking his partner's nose with loving playfulness. Ladybug let out another frustrated groan and looked up at her partner. 

And her breath caught. 

His eyes were beautiful.

Of course, she already knew that much. 

But, here? In pitch black? With no street lights or moon or stars to diminish their radiance? 

His eyes were animalistic, magical and absolutely _ravishing_. His scleras glowed a vibrant green, their brightness nearly equivalent to....

Thousands of fireflies rose and filled the air, twinkling like little stars. They illuminated the dark crevice with a soft light, spreading their galaxy just as they had the time before.

Ladybug felt deja vu hit, images of the time previous flashing through her mind like a dream. 

This was where Adrien had kissed her. ‘ _And I kissed him back_.’

Unbeknownst to the red clad heroine, the exact same thought was pounding annoyingly through Chat Noir's skull. He glanced at her.

Lady Luck stood with the same adorably bewildered expression. The one that made Agreste want to kiss her senseless. 

But...

Ladybug had kissed _Adrien_ , not Chat Noir. She'd willingly visited _Adrien’s_ bedroom chambers, not Chat Noir’s. (As far as Adrien knew she knew, of course). Ladybug and Adrien _had_ _something_ (though they had yet to name that something), and Adrien would be damned if he undermined their newly budded whatever-it-was by failing to restrain his stupid hormones for one measly night.

So, the masked cat held back his desperate hands. And refrained to admiring his Lady only from afar. 

Suddenly, Ladybug gasped. 

“What is it?” Chat asked worriedly. He tore his gaze away from his partner's lovely face. 

His jaw nearly dropped. 

Out from the brush stepped a majestic creature, a bird, white as snow, glittering like ice in the light of the lightning bugs that surrounded it. 

“An albino peacock,” Ladybug whispered wonderfully. Her fingers cupped her rosy cheeks in amazement.

Chat nodded in agreement, though Ladybug was too enraptured by the angelic creature to spare notice. 

“Not yet! A little longer,” Ladybug whispered pleadingly as the enchanted bird turned back toward the dark brush.

Chat Noir laughed softly at her adorable antics. 

“Gong! Where are you, Gongjan?” an unfamiliar voice rang out. 

The echoes of breaking twigs reached the heroic duo's ears and they fell silent. “Gongjan! I swear!”

The footsteps grew closer still, until—

A woman stepped out into the firefly-lit clearing behind the dazzling peacock, and Ladybug caught her breath at the sight of her.

The lady’s hair radiated a golden blonde in the light of the little bugs and her eyes glistened a shade of green that the spotted hero knew she recognized from _somewhere_.

“There you are!” the woman sighed in relief when she saw the bird. “Why on earth did you run off like—“ 

The woman froze, finally noticing the two (oddly dressed) strangers in front of her. And, after a second, her expression became filled with curiosity. 

Then fear. 

Then...astonishment. 

“Ladybug? Chat Noir?” she inquired softly, glancing between the two of them. Taken aback from being recognized, Ladybug nodded dumbly.

Everything about this woman was familiar to her. And not just her eyes or her hair, but _her_. It was in that moment that Ladybug realized the woman was speaking in perfect, unaccented French.

_Odd._

But one thing Ladybug failed to notice were the tears that spilled down her partner’s cheeks.

Chat Noir’s heart twisted in anguish as he stared at the woman, unbelieving of who he saw.

The lady's voice was gentle.

_...Always so gentle..._

And her eyes shone like the most brilliant of emeralds.

_...Always so kind..._

_'Mother.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys I’m making a story called Karuma, (and it’s a lot like Miraculous w the double identities thing). One character is named Avan Ariel (the guy) and the girl’s name is Emica. 
> 
> BUT I DONT KNOW WHAT Emica’s LAST NAME SHOULD BE. 
> 
> So, if u have a suggestion, plz help lol


	13. Related Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy my sweets :)

Emilie Agreste was a bird; a creature that demanded freedom and the fullness of life, always living in the moment. 

Gabriel Agreste was not a bird.

He was a butterfly; A passive, delicate, and passionate creature that, over the course of its young life, dreamed only of sprouting the most beautiful wings the world had yet seen. 

The bird loved the butterfly for his loving and dedicated soul. 

The butterfly loved the bird for her free and joyful spirit. 

 

A golden ray of sunlight was born of this love. 

 

If only the tale ended there. 

 

_________________________

 

_'Adrien Agreste. My name is Adrien Agreste.'_

All the boy had to do was say his own name.

But he couldn't. His tongue was caught in his throat. 

This moment, with the expellance of two words, could become everything Adrien had dream of for the past five years. 

And everything he hated. 

All he had to do was whisper his name and this woman— _his mother_ —would know him. He'd be able to hug her; to pour out the miseries he'd endured without her. He'd recount for her the wondrous things down to the most minute of details.

He would tell her of the amazing girl that had captured his heart, a girl whose smile reminded him so much of _her_. 

All he had to do was whisper two words.

_Adrien. Agreste._

But he couldn't.

Sweet, _sweet_ Adrien couldn't do that to his lady. 

Not right now. 

He wanted that moment to be gentle.

Just him.

Just her.

Alone, _together_.

“What’s wrong?” a worried voice pushed softly. 

And Chat Noir, always the gentleman, merely shook his head as he looked to his wondrous partner and lady.

"Sorry," he breathed quietly. "She... just reminds me of someone."

Ladybug seemed unconvinced, but she didn’t continue to broach the topic, instead turning back to the woman. 

“How do you know us?” she asked quietly. The woman relaxed, almost as if Ladybug’s obvious confusion alleviated some great burden from her. 

“I spent my entire life fighting Ladybug and Chat Noir,” she admitted. 

The duo stiffened. 

“What?” Chat rasped. Ladybug glanced at him. 

“You don’t actually believe you are the first holders of those miraculous, now, do you?” The lady said with a laugh. 

Ladybug and Chat stared silently at her. 

 

“What’s your name?” Ladybug finally ventured to ask. 

 

The woman smiled. 

 

"Emilie Agreste."

 

"A-Agreste?" Ladybug stuttered in disbelief. "As in, Agreste in Gabriel Agreste?"

"Ah yes, he’s my husband! If you don’t mind my asking, how is it that you know him?"

The inside of Marinette’s head was a tornado. 

Adrien’s was a hurricane. 

Mrs. Agreste noticed the desperation in their expressions, and didn’t ask again when neither of them answered her. 

Ladybug glanced at Chat Noir. He looked more than a little comatose. And she couldn’t understand why. 

“Chat," she whispered quietly. 

Chat Noir turned to look at her, his eyes glazed over. 

“Yeah?”

Ladybug watched him for a second, mouth parted slightly to speak. She closed it. 

"Nevermind.”

Chat eyed her curiously, head cocked to the side, but he didn't push it.

“We should really go,” Mrs. Agreste called to the pair. She had already started back into the brush, the long-forgotten albino peacock marching diligently behind her. "I have a place that's a bit more accommodating than this dark mess."

The duo silently followed. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Welcome to _Grotte de Merveille!”_ Mrs. Agreste quipped. 

 

They were in a cave. A rather massive cave at that. 

Torches lined the walls and a bed sat further back, but other than that it was empty. 

Chat Noir looked around, amazed and bewildered. 

His mother had been _living_ here? 

Alone? For the past _five years_?

“This isn’t actually where I live,” Emilie suddenly stated, as if having read his thoughts. “I have a house, but it’s further away. This is just a convenient...check point. In case I need it.”

A fire was soon started.

Emilie placed herself on one side of it and Ladybug took the other. 

Chat lingered for a second.  

He was exhausted, both emotionally and physically, and he wanted nothing more than to curl up at his lady’s side. 

But he feared rejection. As Chat Noir, he feared she would push back his nose with her kind hand and leave his heart out to hang, as she had unknowingly done so many times before. And he didn’t think he could take that right now.

Ladybug looked up at her partner. 

Her beautiful bluebell eyes quirked in question as to why he was still standing, then widened when they caught sight of his broken expression and slumped shoulders. 

He was a mess. And It broke her heart. 

‘ _What’s got you so down, kitty?’_

After a moment of hesitation, Ladybug sighed, and reached out a warm hand to her forlorn counterpart. 

“Come here,” she breathed softly. 

Chat’s pupils dilated and his eyes widened.

Slowly, he took her hand. 

 Without another word, the cat settled himself gently aside his lady.

Decorous was too generous a word for the space that remained between them as Chat laid his head on Ladybug’s shoulder, nuzzling between her neck and collarbone. His arms daringly wrapped themselves around her body in a emotionally desperate embrace. 

Ladybug sighed into his hold and stroked a hand through his golden hair.

She couldn’t find it in herself, in that moment, to care about the intimacy. 

Chat couldn’t find it in himself to let her go. 

“Why exactly are you here?” Ladybug asked, finally turning back to Mrs. Agreste. 

The woman blinked and Ladybug thought she saw the traces of a gentle smile leave her lips. 

Had she been reveling in the duo’s sweet chalance with each other? 

Or had her mind been somewhere else? 

No matter, Emilie's lips now cracked with a wistful smile and she sighed. 

“It’s a bit of a story.”

 

_____________________________

 

_Once upon a time, a young and beautiful man by the name of Gabriel Agreste was granted a miraculous._

_More specifically, that of the peacock. He went by the name Mayur._

_The elders and protecters of the miraculous had high hopes for Gabriel in a mission: defeat Luck and Calamity, holders of the ladybug and black cat miraculous._

_Both holders had lost themselves to darkness, tipping the scale of balance. They sought nothing but power and absorbed an ancient magic that drastically enhanced their abilities._

_Gabriel quickly came to realize he was outmatched. And, thus, he was granted the permission of finding a partner._

_He chose a lovely young woman by the name of Emilie Cochran to hold the miraculous of the butterfly. She became known as Ferisae._

_Together, the duo battled Luck and Calamity, their newly founded dynamic a force to reckoned with._

_But defeating their opponents remained no easy task._

_Years passed, and Gabriel fell in love with the girl he had chosen as his partner, and she with him._

_They married and had a beautiful boy the world akinned to sunlight._

_But home life didn’t stop the two heroes from continuing to pursue their mission._

_And, eventually, they succeeded._

_But in the process of doing so, the guardian temple was destroyed. Moreover, even upon capturing them and taking their miraculous, Mayur and Ferisae discovered the Luck and Calamity still held the powers of fortune due to the dark magic with which they had cursed themselves._

_In the end, to protect the world, the two heroes, vanquished foes in tow, journeyed to Templum Orcus._

_The temple of Hades._

_In it, Luck and Calamity were locked away forever, along with the dark power that coursed through their veins._

_"The temple needs to be guarded," Emilie argued. "We have to stay."_

_But Gabriel refused to devote his existence to playing guard dog. He had life plans, goals, dreams—he had done enough for the world already._

_But his love, Emilie, would not relent._

_“I gave you the miraculous. It isn’t yours to keep and do with as you please,” Gabriel growled at her, trying to find an excuse—any excuse—to bring her home to Paris._

_The young woman boldly handed over the butterfly pendent. She was determined to stay with the temple, whether she held it or not._

_“Our son,” Gabriel still fought, tearing up angrily. “What about Adrien?!”_

_Tears streamed down Emilie’s face, but she remained firm in her resolution._

_“I do this for him. And I do this for you. Tell my boy I love him.”_

_Gabriel never told Adrien what she'd said._

_How could he?_

_What explanation would he have?_

_“You’ll come crawling back to Paris in a week,” Gabriel told her, outraged. “Just wait.”_

_Emilie shook her head sadly._

_“I love you, Gabriel. Remember that.”_

_With one last, chaste kiss to his lips, Emilie Agreste turned, and was gone._

 

_________________________

 

Chat Noir was quick witted. 

Clever. 

But, more often than not, he forgot or missed the bigger picture. 

He forgot or missed an important detail. 

He forgot past happenings. 

He missed equations. 

“Gabriel Agreste had the butterfly miraculous?” Ladybug suddenly whimpered. Chat Noir slowly looked to his partner. 

Her eyes burned with horror and outrage. And, suddenly, Chat’s mind caught up. 

He remembered. 

He acquired what he‘d missed. 

Gabriel Agreste was Hawkmoth. 

Or, at least, had been. 

 

“H-He’s responsible for the terrorization of Paris. For the death of...” Ladybug paused, taking a deep, tremulous breath. “Civilians.”

 

‘ _Your_ _parents_...’ Chat realized, and his heart clenched.  

 

“That’s impossible. Gabriel would never kill or hurt anyone,” Mrs. Agreste protested, eyes wide.

 

“Well, he did,” Chat Noir spoke suddenly, eyes distant and glassy. His tone was on the edge of furious.

 

Mrs. Agreste looked at him, wary and surprised. 

 

The boy had yet to speak a word to her since their meeting.

 

Chat grit his teeth and Ladybug could feel his body stiffen. 

 

“My friend lost her family because of him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do y’all consider this fan fic a mystery? Bc, like, u have questions u don’t know the answer to yet, right?
> 
> I made a lot of words up in this chapter haha. They just sounded right to me so I put them there. They include but aren’t limited to: expellence and chalance (where are my YJ fans?)


	14. Twisted Intentions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a roller coaster to write and revise, good lord.

Adrien Agreste was a rather passive individual. 

That’s just how he was. 

He never picked fights. 

Never enticed violence (save for Akumas, of course). 

That calm demeanor, Adrien inherited from his father. And it was a trait of much value to the young Agreste considering his lady, as much as he loved her, had a temper of fire. 

And, as Adrien was coming to learn, so did his mother. 

“ _GABRIEL_ ,” Mrs. Agreste shouted as she marched toward his hotel room, (having threatened the clerk for the number).

" _Gabriel Avi Agreste_!"

Upon reaching his door, Emilie Agreste began to pound it incessantly.

Ladybug and Chat Noir took a step behind the furious woman as the door to Mr. Agreste’s room slowly opened. 

Saying the designer looked less than impressed would've been an understatement. 

“What—“

Gabriel stopped short and his eyes widened in shock, jaw clenching as his hand clutched the door handle tightly.

“E-Emilie...”

Mrs. Agreste held her hand up angrily. 

“Save it.”

It was then that Mr. Agreste noticed the two heroes standing behind his angry wife, and an expression of comprehension crossed his face. 

The man sighed. 

“Emilie, Ladybug, Chat Noir,” he addressed them regretfully. “Please. Come in.” 

 

_________________________

 

Gabriel shut the door and turned to face the group. Chat Noir stared at him, at a loss of words for the situation. For his _own_ involvement in the situation. 

_His_ father had been the one fighting, for nearly two years, against _him_ and Ladybug. 

Adrien beneath the mask felt ashamed. Ashamed that he, _Chat Noir_ , had never discovered him. 

“Emilie told us you both used to be heroes—That you literally saved the entire world. So...why?” Ladybug asked quietly, voice trembling. “Why everything?”

Gabriel looked at her with a sorrowful calm as he seated himself in a chair, cautiously leaning back. He sighed. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

_Gabriel returned home, furious._

_But, above all, he was broken._

_Broken to the core of his heart._

_“There must be a way to abolish the magic,” he growled, clenching his platinum blonde hair in his hands. He turned to Duusu, eyes watering._

_“Please,” he pleaded, voice cracking. “I have to bring her back.” The kwami sighed._

_“There’s only one possible way I know of. A certain spell. And I don’t even know if it would work like that, Gabby.”_

_The kwami averted his eyes nervously._

_“You would need the miraculous of creation and destruction.”_

_Gabriel’s eyes widened._

_“Luck and Calamity’s miraculous,” he breathed quietly. The man turned to his kwami. “A guardian must have them. Or an elder. Someone.”_

_He rose to his feet._

_“We have to find them.”_

_Gabriel searched._

_And, damn, did he search hard._

_After the fall of the temple, the guardians and elders (the few that remained) had dispersed, for their safety and the world’s._

_And they hid well. Gabriel failed to find a single one. In three year’s time._

_“I’m done.”_

_Gabriel slumped against his bedroom wall, having just arrived back from another unsuccessful trip in finding a rumored guardian._

_“Du, I’m done. I’m never finding those miraculous. I’ll never be able to bring Emilie back.”_

_The man began to sob and his kwami caressed his cheek sympathetically._

_“If only the miraculous would come to us,” the little fairy sighed. “I’d be willing to face down Luck and Calamity with you all over again if it meant getting your girl back, Gabby. Especially for your boy.”_

_Gabriel’s bloodshot eyes snapped open._

_“Du, that’s it,” he breathed, staring off into space. The kwami looked at his master, confused._

_“What’s it?”_

_Without another word, Gabriel stood up from the floor and stormed out of his master bedroom, down the hall, and into his office, straight to the larger-than-life portrait of his wife that hung on its wall._

_He pulled the painting back like a door, revealing an electronically locked safe. He opened it and reached for a glittering lavender brooch that had sat dormant for so long._

_“Gabby! What are you hoping to accomplish by waking Nooroo?” Duusu protested. “He knows nothing more than I do about anything regarding the spell or the guardians.”_

_Gabriel looked at his little friend and smiled sadly._

_“I know. I also know that you’re willing to go through hell and back for me. Which is why I can’t use you. Because it’d break my soul to see you disappointed.”_

_The fairy looked at his master, eyes worried._

_“W-what do you mean by ‘can’t use me’? Disappointed? Gabby, what are talking about? You’re scaring me.”_

_Little tears welt up in the magical being’s beautiful black eyes._

_Gabriel realized he’d never seen a kwami cry. He hadn’t known they could._

_“I’m sorry, Du. Goodbye.”_

_Gabriel Agreste removed the peacock pendant from his chest._

_And when he looked up, his devoted friend was gone._

_Gabriel took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves._

_His fist clenched around Nooroo’s brooch as he set Duusu’s miraculous in the safe, closing both it and the picture._

_His mind was made up._

_If the world wouldn’t give him fortune, he’d take it from the embodiments themselves._

 

~~~

 

_Two years he wasted, terrorizing Paris._

_Two years spent chasing Ladybug and Chat Noir, and gaining nothing._

_Eluded by children. Rookies to the game._

 

_And Gabriel, after two years, realized he should be relieved as fuck by that._

 

~~~~~~~~

 

“The book that Adrien took.” 

Chat Noir cringed. 

“Nooroo and I managed to decode a portion of it, and it changed everything.” 

The man sighed. 

“Two wielders ‘of certain nature’ are necessary for the spell to work. I didn’t understand what that meant. Honestly, I still not sure.”

The man looked between Chat Noir and Ladybug. 

“I just understood a new tactic was needed.” 

Ladybug raised a brow.

“A...new tactic?”

Gabriel chuckled darkly.

“I know your identities.”

Ladybug’s heart nearly stopped, as did her blonde partner’s. 

Since when had _he known_? _How_?

Before either of the duo could speak, Gabriel continued.

“I honestly had no plan past bringing you here and hoping that perhaps I could reason with you, convince you to help me.” Gabriel sighed. “Because I need you. Both of you. Along with the miraculous.” 

The man looked solely at Ladybug for a long and silent second. 

“And...for the record, miss Luck, I’ve never killed anyone,” he finally said quietly. Ladybug’s eyes widened. “But that’s a conversation for another day.” 

Gabriel turned to his wife. 

“I’m guessing you had something to do with the temple's disappearance?” 

Mrs. Agreste nodded with a proud smile. 

“The temple was getting too much attention. It’s a spell one of the masters taught me. It’s a weak one, since I cast it without a miraculous, so it won’t hold much longer, but at least it’s something.”

Mrs. Agreste sighed and rolled her eyes. 

“I blame all the newfound attention on James. Walking in like he owns the place with that stupid expedition of his. He knew where he was. I don’t get why he did that.”

Chat Noir’s ears perked, as did Ladybug’s. 

“Expedition? Brother?” they asked in unison. Had they heard right?

“Yeah, my brother’s name is James Cochran. He did an expedition here a little while ago. When all of them ‘lived to tell the tale’, it convinced some of the natives the place wasn’t haunted. Which got annoying because people wouldn’t stop coming around.” 

The duo continued to gape at her. 

“He’s here!” 

 

__________________________

 

“James? James!” Gabriel shouted, knocking loudly on his brother-in-laws hotel door. 

No answer. 

“Where could he possibly be?” the man mused. 

“He’s in trouble with the government for the temple’s disappearance. Maybe he’s somewhere because of that,” Ladybug suggested. Gabriel shook his head. 

“The government aspect was a quick cover we decided on so you wouldn’t get suspicious when he flew over here. It wasn’t true.”

The man pulled out his phone, dialed a number, and put the call on speaker. 

 

_...Ring...Ring...Ring_...

 

The line picked up.

 

“ _Hello? Awww, is my brother calling to check on me? That’s sweet._ ” 

 

“Where are you?” Gabriel growled, ignoring the man’s childish teasing. James chuckled darkly. 

 

_“Oh, you know. Just somewhere, nowhere. Doing whatever I please. I’m a grown man, Gabe. I don’t need you to self-righteously babysit me.”_

 

“Jamie, what are you doing?” Mrs. Agreste hissed as she snatched the phone from her husband’s hands. 

 

_”My dear, thieving sister, Emilie. How nice it is to hear your voice."_

 

"Cut the bullshit, James. Where are you." 

 

The man let out a throaty laugh and the group stiffened.

 

_"I think you know where I am.”_

 

The line informed of its disconnection.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chap turned out longer than I thought it would, plus it took me forever to revise, so I won’t be posting another one tonight. 
> 
> But, don’t fear, the next will come tomorrow :)


	15. Now Scream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING YESTERDAY. I DIDNT HAVE THIS FINISHED.

Trust. 

It takes years to build, seconds to break, and forever to repair. 

It‘s a compliment greater than love. 

When betrayed, it’s five times as painful as a heart break, and infinitely worse than the loss. 

Trust is a privilege. 

James Cochran earned that privilege with Gabriel Agreste, and Gabriel with him. 

Their trust in each other was so strong, in fact, that Gabriel had revealed himself as Mayur to the man. 

The men would’ve trusted each other with their lives should it have ever come to that. 

Well, that’s what James believed, until Gabriel Agreste chose Emilie to wield the butterfly miraculous rather than him. 

Gabriel was not to be blamed. 

He was a man who had fallen in love. A man who had found the one to which his soul was destined to tie with. 

His heart and fate had led him to choosing Emilie. 

But James only heard excuses. 

James only saw betrayal. 

And, thus, the trust between two men was broken. 

And the tie between friends was cut.  

 

______________________

 

James Cochran stood at the edge of a vast field with a steady hand outreached, his fingers pressed firmly against a solid wall of rock that stood as invisible as the wind. 

James smiled and sighed under his breath. 

“You fool many with your witchcraft, sister, but not me.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The temple was eerier alone, James soon mused. 

He pulled a flashlight from his satchel and flipped the switch. Light flooded the ancient structure, forgotten languages and art covering each and every stone. 

James walked purposely forward, through halls and down winding passageways, pausing only for brief moments to eye his carefully crafted map. 

Finally—

_'Found you.'_

The wall with vines. 

Cochran's hands wandered past the plants and onto the cold rock. 

_Creeeeeak_...

He activated the panel from the time before. 

Grinding stone echoed through the temple as the wall spun, taking James with it. 

The explorer smiled with grim satisfaction. 

He was nearly there. 

With his sister occupied, no one was here to stop him. 

What he had craved for so long was finally in his grasp. 

James crossed the rustic bridge over the black water and to the awaiting door, lili pads and haunting sculptures observing him from the water’s brink. 

Once cross the bridge, James reached for a door. 

The tall, aged door behind which he had yet to explore. 

James’ fingers rested against it. 

And nausea struck him. Like a tidal wave. 

The man leaned his head against the door for support as he grit his teeth in pain and dizziness. 

Another wave crashed through his skull and abdomen.

_'It must be a spell that witch put on this place.'_

James ignored the ever-growing sickening pit in his stomach as he pushed his shoulder against the door and shoved with all his might. 

He didn’t have much time. His sister and the others would be there soon. 

It was now or never. 

_Creeeeak_...

The door opened just enough for the man to get through. 

Cautiously, James shone his flashlight inside the dark abyss and stepped in.  

It was a room, not unlike a prison cell one might find in the unwashed depths of the Tower of London. The cobblestone floors and walls were nearly black with muck, filth, and slime. It was disgusting. 

And James was beginning to feel worse. And worse was an understatement. 

A harsh fever burned his body and his face dripped with sweat. 

_'What is wrong with me?'_

All of a sudden, it became too much for him. James fell to his knees and emptied the contents of his stomach onto the floor beneath him, retching for a solid amount of time. 

The man hoped to at least feel better after that. 

He didn’t. 

He felt worse. 

His head spun and his body ached. 

“What the actual hell,” James growled through gritted teeth as his legs failed to stand. 

He was trembling.

A steady pain needled itself into every cell of his body. 

James wanted to scream. 

“W-What is this?!” he growled in frustration through gritted teeth. 

He wouldn’t reduce himself to screaming. 

No. Even alone, the pathetic vulnerability of such an act appalled him, and he withheld. 

_“What is this, you ask?”_

James’ head snapped up and his eyes widened in terror as they darted through the dark, searching for the voice’s origin. He saw nothing. 

“W-who’s there?” he rasped. 

“ _This...is what happens when people get too close to me.”_  The words were mused slowly with a chuckle.

The explorer’s heartbeat quickened. Adrenaline rushed through his veins, and he managed to stand up. 

Fiercely, James grabbed the flashlight and shined it in the direction of the voice. 

“I said, who’s there,” he demanded, mustering all the courage he had left. 

The courage left him as quickly as it had come. 

From the corner of the room, a dark figure emerged. It hissed as the flashlight stung its glowing eyes. It drawled closer to the man. 

James’ face twisted in horror. 

The figure was near six feet tall, clothed in heavy black and sporting a wide, muscular frame. Its hair was long and dark, with skin as pale as snow.

But the most unnerving (yet somewhat stunning) thing about the figure was its eyes. 

The scleras glowed purple, like amethyst quartz under a florescent bulb, and the pupils were slitted like a snake’s.  

Or a cat’s. 

James had only seen eyes like that once before. 

On an young hero that resided in Paris. 

_‘Chat Noir?_ ’

“W-what d-do you w-wanted?” James whimpered hoarsely, slowly stepping back toward the door from which he had come, not daring to remove his eyes from the large and demonic...male? The figure chuckled again, continuing its approach on the now-catatonic explorer. 

Again, a wave of nausea slushed through James’ stomach.

_‘Should I run? Just, turn and run?’_ He considered. Would he be fast enough? 

 

Another voice suddenly rang out. 

 

“ _Please...don’t leave. We don’t get visitors...very often_.” 

 

It was feminine. Lazy, but it held a threatening edge. 

_Something_ gripped James’ shoulder. 

The touch felt like death.

James’ slowly turned his head to see what had grabbed him.

And immediately regretted it.

His throat gagged dryly and he wretched his eyes away in repulsion. 

“ _How rude_ ,” the new being growled. It shoved the explorer roughly, sending him mercilessly flying into the back wall of the room. 

“My _Charm, he has no taste...You are...a bewitching jewel,_ ” the first figure purred, coming to a stand with its counterpart. 

Suddenly, James heard creaking. 

The creaking of the door. 

The creaking closed of his only chance for escape. 

His only hope for escape. 

The man couldn’t help but begin to cry quietly. 

His body felt broken....

“ _Don’t worry. We’re still here_ ,” the female being giggled satanically. The wicked laughter echoed spectrally off the walls of the room. 

...and now, so did his soul. 

James began to scream. Hysterically. 

None were there to hear him. 

None were there to help him. 

He knew this. 

 

 

James continued to scream.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, updates will not be every day anymore bc school and lacrosse just started back up for me :( so I can’t spend 7 hours a day sitting on my phone and writing lmao. 
> 
> But I will update as much as possible. 
> 
> And next chap should have some Adrien and Marinette stuff in it ;) soooo
> 
> I love u guys :)


	16. Licks, Kisses, and Hisses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Previously: Gabriel revealed his plan and backstory, admitting to knowing both Ladybug and Chat Noir’s identities and claiming he intentionally brought them both to Hawaii. (Oh, and James got taken lmao). 
> 
> LB is now confronted with the immediate truth of the situation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Read the chap summary for a “what happened previously” thing, otherwise ignore it.

Marinette was many things. 

She was beautiful, talented, and kind,  always willing to help someone. She was also incredibly good at making friends. 

But there was (at least) one thing she wasn’t. 

Stupid. 

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was not stupid.

She was more than capable of solving two plus two.

And the equation set before her wasn’t much harder than that. Not anymore. 

Gabriel Agreste had made it explicitly clear he himself had brought the heroic duo of Paris to Hawaii. 

And who (Marinette’s brained deigned her to answer) had Mr. Agreste brought with him besides herself?

 

‘ _No. Nonono. No way.’_

 

Ladybug incredulously glanced to her partner of nearly three years, only to find him staring back at her. 

And she wasn’t surprised, because he, too, wasn’t stupid. He was an annoyingly beautiful blonde, but she knew he wasn’t stupid. Nevertheless, she _was_ surprised to find no trace of shock on his face, no astonishment. None of the emotions that undoubtedly riddled her own features. 

Zip. Zero.

Instead, an infuriating patience and _smugness_ burned from the dark hero’s eyes. Annoyingly expectant, nearly coddling. The cat had been _waiting_ for his lady to answer the equation. To finally put two and two together on her own. 

Ladybug couldn’t help but notice he wore the same, exasperating expression he’d had earlier that very night, the one that enraged the spotted heroine to no end. The one that made her feel she was the punchline in a joke she didn’t yet get or, worse, even know existed. 

Ladybug opened her mouth to speak, to chide his demeanor, but words refused to come. 

What had him so satisfied? 

Chat Noir smiled. He smiled his Cheshire Cat, pearly white, shit-eating, bordering-narcissistic (yet infuriatingly hot) smile at her and—

“What’s wrong, Lady Luck?” the cat had the _audacity_ to quip. He grinned as Ladybug’s eyes quavered from his own and her cheeks burned. 

“Please, just shut up,” she managed with a growl, derogatory conviction dripping heavily from her words despite the circumstances, despite her shock and uncertainty. She already didn’t know how to feel, and his suaveness about the situation only made her angry and embarrassed. 

A mischievous smile still painted the corners of Chat’s lips as his eyes quirked slyly.  

“Such a nasty tone, m’lady. I didn’t know such a sweet mouth was capable,” he gleefully teased, taking sultry steps toward the girl, his fingers mockingly splayed over his heart. 

“I said, shut up,” Ladybug hissed again, glaring back defiantly at him, but Chat wasn’t listening, his mind and body transfixed on a sudden revelation of self. Of position. 

Of situation.

And it wasn’t about all about Ladybug. 

Swiftly, Chat’s hands took hold of Ladybug’s waist and he pulled her to him. His head dipped down, coming to rest against the side of her own, his soft locks brushing her cheeks.

The dark hero’s lips caressed his lady’s ear, as if poising to whisper. His warm breath licked against her exposed skin.

They were in the presence of company.

They had an audience. 

An audience that held a member Chat Noir was _dying_ to disappoint.

And he’d be damned if he didn’t take this opportunity to do what he’d always wanted—always _yearned_ —to do.

Over his lady’s shoulder, Chat’s eyes wildly stared into the stunned gaze of Gabriel Agreste, glimmering with a vengeful and rebellious satisfaction. 

_Oh_ , how he’d waited for a day like this. An opportunity like this. 

A time in which he’d shatter his father’s image of him.

A moment in which he’d show his father just how far from perfect he truly was. 

“And to think, m’lady,” Chat practically purred, tone dark, his eyes never wavering from his father’s. “That I allowed this same mouth to kiss...”

A hot breath. 

“...lick...” 

A caress of his teeth to her ear. 

"...And suck at me—“

A smirk. 

“—with such languidness that I nearly~” 

“CHAT. NOIR,” Ladybug shouted in anger and utter embarrassment, pushing herself indignantly away from his grasp, having _finally_ had enough of his behavior. 

As she escaped him, the cat began to laugh, obnoxiously and beautifully so. 

Freely. 

He continued to laugh, clutching at his joyfully aching sides as Ladybug’s face _burned_. As his father’s jaw nearly dropped off his face in utter shock and disbelief. 

Because Adrien Agreste was no longer sorry he wasn’t an angel. 

He was a beautiful, _beautiful_ boy—a hero even—but he was no angel. 

 

And he hoped he had finally made that clear. 

 

Chat’s laughter came to an abrupt halt as Ladybug marched back to him, a furious finger raised. “I have half a _fucking_ mind to—“

A deep throat cleared from behind her and Ladybug snapped her body toward the sound, finding a shell shocked Gabriel and bewildered Emilie Agreste, both looking entirely awkward. 

Ladybug had literally forgotten they were there. (Chat Noir most certainly had not.) 

“If you two wouldn’t mind, I have a few things to discuss with Emilie,” Mr. Agreste said quietly, his tone softened. It was the most vulnerable Marinette had ever heard him. “And it’s apparent you two also have a few things to...discuss. So, perhaps, we should take this to separate rooms.”

Chat’s lips quirked in innocent agreement and he silently nodded. 

Ladybug, he found, was already headed out the door. 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It was dark. The sun had long since vanished beyond the dusk, leaving only the moon and stars to illuminate the land or rather, the hallway. It was honestly beautiful, the way the moonlight brilliantly glittered through the large windows at the end of each side. 

But it was the last thing on either of the heroic duos’ minds. 

 Chat Noir’s back was leaned against the wall, his arms crossed, as he eyed Ladybug calmly. Her eyes were somber, yet still shone like sapphires in the light of the moon, and her cheeks and lips were unsmiling, but still held that innocent, dainty pink Chat had always adored. 

Ladybug hadn’t moved, nor had she spoken, since they’d exited the room. And Chat Noir found the silence unnecessarily deafening. He wanted it broken. 

He needed it broken. 

“You were ready to chew me out a minute ago,” he noted quietly. He hated it when she was mad at him, but he’d take her yelling and tantrums over the silent treatment any day. 

Because silence meant she wasn’t just mad. 

It meant she was also confused or hurt.

And Chat’s heart never could take his lady being hurt, especially on his account. 

“Please, Ladybug, say something.” 

Ladybug looked at him and her breath nearly caught. His sorrowful eyes were resplendent, shining like emeralds in the dark, framed magnificently by the sharp black of his mask. 

And they were staring, with all their beauty, at her, wanting. Waiting. 

Pleading for an answer.

“Sorry...cat’s got my tongue,” Ladybug finally murmured softly, closing her eyes and leaning her head back against the door. “Though, I guess he’s had it a little longer than I thought, in more ways than one.” 

She didn’t want to see the way Chat Noir would look at her in response to that. She didn’t need to see. 

“You... _guess?_ ”

She could hear it. The teasing lilt coupled with the childish prodding, the begging for her to elaborate, despite him knowing exactly what she meant. 

“I _know_ ,” she amended. 

“Know? Know what?” 

“Really? Seriously, Chat?” Ladybug groaned, opening her eyes to glare at him. 

The boy sighed. 

“Pitch me a bone, why don’t you,” he murmured softly. With a nod of his head, he gestured the spotted heroine over to him. 

Ladybug hesitantly obliged. 

“That saying is about dogs, not cats,” she grumbled, coming to a standstill in front of her partner. Chat genuinely grinned and his teeth shined. 

“Come on, LB,” he whined playfully, his arms unfolding so his hands could reach for the girl’s. “Why do you always have to be so difficult?”

Ladybug nearly snorted. 

“Me, difficult?? _You_ were the one that pulled that ridiculously embarrassing scene in front of—”

‘ _Your parents.’_

“—the Agrestes. And, everything you said—“

‘ _Was actually true.’_

“—wasn’t even true! Chat Noir, I don’t recall doing anything of such a heated nature with you,” she scoffed, but her composure was cracked, and there was no fixing it, because the cat knew she wasn’t stupid. 

He looked at her, a soft smirk etching his lips. 

“Is that so, m’lady?” he hummed pleasurably, reveling in just how bad a liar she was. 

Chat’s legs parted slightly and he gave Ladybug’s hands a firm tug, landing her against him. The girl gasped and her face buried itself in his chest. 

She remained there, unmoving. She didn’t want to look up at him. She didn’t dare to. 

“I’m shocked,” Chat mused teasingly, but his voice held a serious and heavy note. “You let me take your hands without pulling away.”

The dark hero released his lady’s hands and brought one of his own to under her chin. He tilted her face to look at him. 

Ladybug glared the best she could, but her firm resolve was melting. 

“I pull you to me, but am not pushed back,” he continued to rove absentmindedly, his eyes full of hunger as they wandered her moonlit features. Ladybug released a shaky sigh. 

“I c-can’t push you back, you idiot. You’re against a wall,” she breathed sarcastically in an attempt to retort him. Chat Noir let out a short chuckle, his voice deep and craving. 

Thirsting.

“Good point,” he seethed with a devious smile. Chat swung his leg around, his hips pushing against Ladybug, turning her back against the wall, effectively flipping their positions. His thigh pressed delicately between her legs, nearing (but not quite touching) her core, and his arms leaned above both their heads to support him. 

Chat’s face lingered not hair’s width in front of the girl’s, breath hot and taunting. 

“I’m not against the wall anymore." His voice was deep, daring. And the lady couldn’t find it within herself to push the cat away. 

“No, I guess you’re not.”

The sigh of surrender had barely escaped Ladybug’s mouth before the dark hero’s lips were upon her, desperate yet gentle. The kiss began slow, as did it always, but a swift gradation of intensity soon overtook it, swirling a powerful adrenaline through the pair’s nerves and evoking a heat unlike any they’d experienced thus far. The heat was not salacious, but nor was it entirely pure of lust. 

Chat Noir’s tongue begged his lady’s mouth for entrance, and she opened for him with a small gasp of surprise, a sound that made Chat shudder and move his hands to her hips. He pressed her with firm determination against the wall. 

The heat between them ignited into a small fire. 

The boy felt like he was melting, like his body was dissolving into the girl, into Ladybug. His heart throbbed with a steady pleasure and—

Ladybug’s tongue found it’s way into Chat’s own mouth, starving and violent in its search to be satiated. 

The fire burned brighter. 

Hotter. 

Chat Noir groaned.

Ladybug abruptly relieved her mouth from his, pulling back and gasping for air.

“W-What’s wrong?” Chat managed to rasp, ever fiber of his being protesting the loss of her mouth on his own. His hands lingered on her body, twitching to explore once more.

But Ladybug sighed wistfully. 

“Mon chaton,” she breathed softly. “I think, perhaps, we should return our focus to the mission.“

Chat Noir groaned loudly, and not at all in pleasure. Ladybug raised a patient hand.

“But,” she started again. “Once it’s taken care of, we can take this...”

Ladybug traced a finger down the middle of Chat’s chest.

“...into, maybe, there?” 

Her hand trained in the direction of Adrien Agreste’s hotel room. 

Chat Noir’s body buzzed with heat at her insinuation. 

“Just you...” she continued, with a light kiss to his neck. 

“...And me.”

A kiss to his cheek. 

“Alone, together.”

A final kiss was landed to the forlorn hero’s lips. Chat nodded slowly, his eyes hazed. 

“Alright, ok,” he murmured dizzily. “So, where do we start?” 

Mr. Agreste’s hotel door slammed open, flooding the hall with bright light. The startled duo nearly jumped into the ceiling before stumbling awkwardly away from each other.

 

“The beginning is easy,” Mrs. Agreste said, smiling at the pair. Ladybug realized she was answering Chat’s question to her. “You can all start by following me.”

 

 

______________________________

 

 

“ _With two white roses on his chest,_ ”

 

....

 

“ _White candles at head and feet.”_

 

_...._

 

“ _Master and lord of the grave he rests”_

 

_...._

 

_“Lady death has found him sweet.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I worked on this all week. Sorry it isn’t more! But, quality over quantity can right?
> 
> Does anyone even read author’s notes? Lmao 
> 
> I love comments about y’all’s favorite parts bc then I know what to do more of :)


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